UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS, CHOOSES MERU NETWORKS FOR CAMPUS-WIDE WIRELESS VOICE AND DATA NETWORK

University Delivers Pervasive Access to Business Critical Applications for Students and Faculty
 

Sunnyvale, CA — July 25, 2006

Meru Networks, the global innovation leader in wireless infrastructure for the All-Wireless Enterprise, today announced that the University of Texas, Dallas has deployed the Meru Wireless LAN System for a campus-wide converged wireless network that brings business-critical voice and data applications to its 14,000 students and 2,500 employees. With an extensive project that will be rolled out over a three-year period, UTD is delivering ubiquitous wireless access to its students and faculty while realizing a ROI of less than three years.

UTD began its search for a new networking solution in 2004 when it was faced with replacing an aging PBX system and decided it was time for a new approach to its communications infrastructure. The University’s IT group wanted to provide faculty and students with 24x7 access to critical data applications, as well as ensure future support for voice over IP. After assessing the costs for re-cabling older buildings with CAT5, it became clear that a wireless LAN would better satisfy UTD’s needs for anytime-anywhere access, and simultaneously, would be less expensive to deploy and maintain. UTD evaluated numerous WLAN solutions, including those from Cisco and Aruba, but ultimately, determined that Meru’s WLAN System was the solution that could best meet its requirements for pervasive wireless coverage with simultaneous support for data and toll-quality voice.

“With its unique, single channel architecture, Meru’s WLAN System provided the coverage necessary to give our students and employees ubiquitous access to the applications they need,” said Michael Griego, Wireless LAN Project Manager for UTD. “The wireless network is mission-critical for us, with professors and students accessing coursework and testing materials on a daily basis. Given the importance of the applications running over the network, reliability and performance were absolute requirements and Meru’s WLAN System met all these key criteria.”

Beginning with an initial beta site at its clinical facility in downtown Dallas, UTD rolled out Meru’s WLAN System, providing doctors, students and staff with real-time patient information. The deployment resulted in improved patient care and better student instruction, as well as significantly reduced costs. The success of this trial, led UTD to begin a phased, campus-wide deployment of Meru’s WLAN System, deploying the network for its 14,000 students and 2,500 employees, across 46 buildings. In addition to Internet and email access, both students and professors use WebCT courseware – an application that requires an “always on” wireless LAN. With Meru’s WLAN System, UTD can meet the rigorous requirements of its users today and can accommodate future additions to the network.

“UTD is a great example of a pioneering university that has recognized the numerous productivity and cost benefits of moving toward an All-Wireless environment,” said Michael Tennefoss, vice president of marketing, Meru Networks. “By running business-critical applications such as their WebCT courseware onto the WLAN, UTD has demonstrated how the right wireless infrastructure can not only deliver added convenience to their users, but also improved performance and reliability, and most importantly, significant cost savings. The benefits UTD has realized in their deployment are the very same ones that are driving the accelerating trend towards the All-Wireless Enterprise.”

About Meru Networks
Meru Networks is the global leader in wireless infrastructure solutions that enable the All-Wireless Enterprise. Its industry leading innovations deliver pervasive, wireless service fidelity for business-critical applications to major Fortune 500 enterprises, universities, healthcare organizations and local, state and federal government agencies. Meru’s award-winning Air Traffic Control technology brings the benefits of the cellular world to the wireless LAN environment, and its WLAN System is the only solution on the market that delivers predictable bandwidth and over-the-air Quality of Service with the reliability, scalability, and security necessary to deliver converged voice and data services over a single WLAN infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Meru is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information on Meru Networks and its products, visit www.merunetworks.com or call (408) 215-5300.