Upgrade to 1Gb FAQs
Below are some questions that you may have regarding the 1Gb upgrade for your school
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Will the upgrade improve our performance and give us better speed?
N4L provides all schools with access to fast, safe and reliable internet – and because we don’t believe bandwidth should be a barrier to learning, we make sure schools have access to all the bandwidth they need. While the upgrade to 1Gb increases the size of your school’s connection, there are several other factors which may impact the actual speed of your internet, including:
- Internal infrastructure. The equipment within the school can affect speed, and because N4L only takes care of your connection to the school gate, we’re unable to control the internal network infrastructure that may be impacting your speed.
- Devices. If the hardware or operating system is older, it may be that the device itself has trouble processing high-speed internet.
- Websites. The site you’re trying to visit might not be able to respond quickly due to the server it’s hosted on or where in the world it’s located – even if your internet is top notch.
It’s important to note that online speed tests don’t necessarily reflect your school’s real world experience, and should only be used as a guide.
If I run an internet speed test will this show 1Gb?
Not necessarily. There are a number of factors that affect your speed test result, including the performance of the device you’re running the speed test on, the location of the speed test server you select, and the current bandwidth your school is consuming when you run the speed test. Your school’s wireless or wired network performance also impacts the speed test, as well as your local fibre company’s network infrastructure.
We’re upgrading all eligible schools to ensure sufficient bandwidth is available to support digital learning. As always, if you find that your school is unable to access enough bandwidth to meet your school’s current needs, please call us. We’re always here to help.
How will the upgrade to 1Gb impact my school? What does it mean for us?
It depends on current bandwidth usage as well as devices and hardware within the school. Technical capabilities with the local fibre company also have some impact on the ability for a school to benefit from the 1Gb upgrade – however, we are future-proofing the school’s connection with easier access to more bandwidth when needed.
Do I need to do anything during the upgrade? What process is involved?
The school doesn’t need to do anything on the day, we take care of everything for you from our end – but we do recommend you notify staff and students that there will be a small internet outage of about 3 minutes during your scheduled time slot.
Will anyone be onsite during the upgrade? Who will be doing the upgrade?
We’re working with the team at Spark and the local fibre company to complete this piece of work for your school. Depending on which local fibre company looks after your school, there may be a chance that a Spark technician will need to be onsite during the maintenance to make a physical change at the school. If this is the case, we’ll let you know and they’ll be in touch to arrange this.
What if the day or time doesn’t suit my school? Can I select the day and time?
Please let us know as soon as possible if the allocated day and time slot doesn’t suit. We’ll then work with you to reschedule the school to another day and time.
Will the upgrade take place during exam time?
We will avoid doing the upgrade during exam time, and will work with the school to ensure the scheduled time doesn’t impact any assessments or activities at the school.
Will the upgrade interfere with my school’s configuration or network settings?
No, we’ll be upgrading the back end of the connection only. You shouldn’t experience any issues after your upgrade, but if you do please contact the N4L Helpdesk as soon as possible on 0800 LEARNING.
Still have questions? We’ve got a dedicated team on hand to help.
Give them a call on 0800 LEARNING, or email [email protected]