An Ofsted Outstanding further education college in Cornwall needed a procurement partner who could handle the tier 1 vendors and public sector frameworks on its behalf. The result: 573 new access points, full coverage in every classroom, and not a single lesson disrupted.
Education • 900 employees • 13,500 students • Cornwall, UK • Client since 2016
New Wi-Fi access points deployed across the college
Students covered, with Wi-Fi in every classroom
Campuses surveyed, mapped and refreshed
Disruption to teaching – installed over the summer holidays
An Ofsted Outstanding further education college in Cornwall, teaching around 13,500 students with 900 staff across its campuses.
Facing a major refresh of its Wi-Fi network, the college needed a procurement partner who could navigate the public sector frameworks and the leading vendors on its behalf – a relationship that has now run since 2016.
Multiple tier 1 vendors to evaluate, government procurement frameworks to work through, and limited in-house capacity to run either.
A multi-campus, multi-site Wi-Fi refresh to plan and procure
Multiple tier 1 vendors to evaluate, with no single point of coordination
Limited in-house knowledge of government procurement frameworks
A need for confidence in the technical choices – access point placement, aerial types, controller versus controllerless
Truro & Penwith College was planning a major refresh of its Wi-Fi network infrastructure across its campuses. Delivering it meant evaluating multiple vendors and working through government procurement frameworks, with no single partner to coordinate the process.
Running a complex, multi-site project across several vendors – with limited in-house knowledge of the public sector procurement frameworks – made it harder to move quickly and be confident the college was choosing the right solution.
As the college's long-standing IT procurement partner, Highgate sourced, advised and coordinated the Wi-Fi refresh from end to end – and handled the interactions with the procurement frameworks on the college's behalf.
Managed engagement with all tier 1 vendors, covering demos, pricing and the procurement framework interactions.
A site survey across the campuses to inform access point placement and aerial selection with accurate data.
Sessions comparing controller and controllerless cloud-based Wi-Fi, so the college could make informed choices during procurement.
The chosen Juniper Mist Edge solution sourced and supplied for the college to install across its campuses.
573 access points across the campuses, mapped room by room
Full coverage in every classroom and shared space
Installed over the summer holidays – no disruption to teaching
Hours of staff time saved on vendor and framework management
Confidence the right solution was procured, at strong value for money
The refresh brought in 573 new access points – 458 at Truro and 115 at Penzance – with full coverage in every classroom, plus the Food Village, reception and lecture theatre. Highgate's site survey mapped each access point room by room, and the college installed the kit itself over the summer holidays, with no disruption to teaching.
The college now has best-in-class Wi-Fi across its campuses and is confident it procured the right solution. Working with a single procurement partner saved the team hours of time and delivered strong value for money on the investment.
"Working with Highgate as our one-stop-shop for IT procurement has not only saved us hours of time, but has also got us high value for money on our IT investments. We would not hesitate to recommend Highgate."
Robin Pengilley
Head of IT Services, Truro & Penwith College
Wi-Fi, networking and end-user technology specified, sourced and supported.
Vendor management, framework navigation and sourcing as a single point of contact.
How we support colleges, trusts and schools across the UK.
"I couldn't do my job without the support Highgate provides."
– David Hazari, Director of IT & Operations
"Mike Hinchliffe is like a part of our own team."
– Austin Pass, Managing Director
"A vendor you can rely on."
– Tom Luknar, IT Manager
Multi-site projects, tier 1 vendors and public sector frameworks are what we do every week. We'll handle the procurement so your team can stay focused on the estate.
