Meraki Offers Wireless Networks to K-12 Schools for $40 Per Student or Less

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Meraki, the cloud-based wireless networking company, launched its "Wireless For Schools" program today, offering K-12 schools and districts a comprehensive 802.11n wireless LAN at the price of $40 per student or less. The program enables schools to deploy a high-quality wireless network quickly, easily, and at less than half the cost of other solutions in the market. To qualify, schools must contact Meraki and make their purchases by December 22, 2009.

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"Our K-12 customers have told us they appreciate how Meraki makes it easy to install and maintain large-scale wireless networks with limited resources," said Josh Zaretsky, Director of Marketing. "'Wireless For Schools' goes two steps further by making the cost of the wireless network totally predictable and shifting the risk of providing high quality wireless coverage from the customer to Meraki."

The "Wireless For Schools" program provides schools with centrally managed, dual radio 802.11n coverage across the campus for a low, per-student price. The system includes Meraki MR14 access points, a 3-year license to Meraki's Enterprise Cloud Controller, and business-class technical support. Unlike traditional vendors, there are no hidden costs, such as support and maintenance contracts, management appliances, or per-feature licenses.

Many schools are already considering wireless to take advantage of pending broadband stimulus and other funding programs. "Alongside an E-Rate rebate of 80%, a Meraki network would cost just $8 per student, or less," said Zaretsky. "It's an attractive time to buy wireless, and we hope 'Wireless For Schools' makes it even more attractive."

"Wireless For Schools" was designed to make pricing straightforward for schools and school districts. Sample deployments are provided below. Meraki will also offer schools or districts with more than 1,000 students a price per student of less than $40. Installation services are not included in this offer, and Meraki has certified partners to assist with installation as needed.

Meraki networks also include bundled features that schools are often required to purchase separately, such as comprehensive content filtering and per-user bandwidth shaping. Additional benefits include award-winning mesh for simplified deployment; multiple virtual networks to keep students, faculty, and guests separate, and quality of service (QoS) for video surveillance cameras.

Interested K-12 schools should visit www.meraki.com or contact Meraki at 415.632.5800 to learn more about the "Wireless For Schools" program.

About Meraki

Meraki offers enterprise-class wireless networks at a fraction of the cost and complexity of traditional networking vendors. This is made possible by its unique cloud-based technology. The company's customers range from K-12 schools, to small and medium-sized businesses to world-class educational institutions. Meraki wireless networks serve millions of users on over 12,000 networks in more than 140 countries. Meraki is located in San Francisco, California, and is funded in part by Sequoia Capital and Google. For more information, go to www.meraki.com. Follow Meraki on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Meraki