Trent University Partners with Peterborough Utilities Inc. and Nexicom to Improve Residence Experience for Students

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Partnership Results in Improved Internet Access and Latest Telephone Technology in all Symons Campus Residence Rooms

Tuesday, August 1, 2006, Peterborough

Trent University is pleased to announce that a new partnership with Peterborough Utilities Inc. and Nexicom has been finalized and work is currently underway to greatly improve Internet access and telephone service for all students staying in on-campus residence rooms.

“Trent is very pleased to be partnering with these two local companies who clearly can provide such first rate service to our students,” said Susan Apostle Clark, Trent’s VP Academic. “This is also a very exciting opportunity for our on-campus housing to be making such cutting-edge technology accessible to our students on the Symons campus.”

Between now and September 1, Peterborough Utilities Inc. is working to replace 40 year old telephone wiring in over 1,000 residence rooms on the Symons campus with new wiring for 100 Megabit per second Internet access, resulting in more reliable Internet service that is 20 times faster than the high speed connections most people have in their homes. The contract with Peterborough Utilities Inc. is for a term of seven years, ensuring that students have access to the best technology for years to come.

"Peterborough Utilities Inc. Telecom division is excited to partner with Trent University to implement an on-campus residence network,” said Denis Goulet, Electronic Engineering Technologist and Manager of Telecommunications with Peterborough Utilities Inc. “Implementing a solution for students to connect directly to the Internet via an Ethernet connection without the requirement of special software or modems will vastly improve research capabilities. Special software will also help monitor student's computer operating system and antivirus software and inform them of updates allowing them to focus on their education rather than technology.”

Nexicom will be providing a new phone service to all residence rooms which will give students access to the latest technology of Voice Over IP, a phone that works over the Internet. The new phone service will include voicemail and 250 minutes of long distance anywhere in North America. For an additional $10 per month, students will have access to an unlimited long distance option which allows unlimited calling within North America. Nexicom is also providing Internet service for residences at Trent’s downtown campus, Traill College.

“Nexicom is excited to be working together with Trent University on this leading edge VoIP service.  Students are very technically oriented these days, so we expect there will be great interest when they discover they will be using the digital phone VoIP system which uses the internet to carry the voice signal,” said Julie Stuart, Marketing Manager at Nexicom. “The program also comes at a very opportune time, as Nexicom completes a few other large VoIP systems, including our own, and prepares to take the VoIP product to the residential marketplace in the fall.”

Students will pay a minimal fee of $25/month to have access to the improved residence Internet and phone service options.

The new services are a significant upgrade from previous years when Trent’s 1,200 students living in residence were provided a basic telephone line and could subscribe to an external provider for high speed internet for an additional $40 per month. Phone service in previous years was plain basic service with voicemail, call display and other features being an extra cost.

Overall, the new partnership between Trent, Peterborough Utilities Inc., and Nexicom has many benefits, including: increasing customer service by using smaller, more customer focussed companies; providing a less costly service that is more tailored to the needs of today’s students; and creating more competitive on-campus housing by placing Trent at the head of the pack in terms of on-campus student residence technology.

In addition to the residence technology improvements, throughout August Trent IT is also doubling the size of AirTrent, the on-campus wireless network for students. This work will ensure that wireless Internet service is available in all cafeterias and student common rooms on the Symons campus for the upcoming academic year. This doubles the number of access points previously deployed in areas such as the library and study locations around campus.

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Photo opportunities featuring the rewiring of campus rooms can be arranged through Trent University.

For more information, please contact:

Randy Neals, Manager, Network and Security, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x7788

Denis Goulet, Electronic Engineering Technologist, Manager of Telecommunications, Peterborough Utilities Inc., (705) 748-9301 x1290

Julie Stuart, Marketing Manager, Nexicom, (705) 927-4295