From the moment they enter preschool, young South Australians will be connected to high-speed internet
Every state school child will have access to high-speed internet after the State Government announced preschools and children’s centres would be connected before the end of 2021.
SA News
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Government preschool and children’s centres will have high-speed broadband by mid next year.
The project for 380 campuses means internet speeds 1000 per cent faster than currently available, with Telstra chosen as the business partner.
The scheme mirrors that for government primary and secondary schools which is almost completed, connecting those 514 schools — 99 per cent of all schools — with high-speed, fibre optic internet connection.
The rollout for all schools and preschools requires thousands of kilometres of cable to be installed across the state, meaning small businesses, public agencies, hospitals and independent schools will also have the chance to obtain much faster connections.
Education Minister John Gardner said the announcement would ensure South Australia’s schools and preschools had access to modern, cutting edge technology.
“Schools connected to date have been overwhelmingly positive about their experience, using their increased speeds and reliability to support the delivery of innovative lessons and learning to students,’’ he said.
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The total investment for all schools and preschools will be $50 million spread over six years. The system-wide investment will replace network hardware, improve cyber security and upgrade internet content filtering tosupport online safety. The Advertiser in 2018 revealed only one in five SA public schools had internet access, well below interstate levels.