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Education

Today's schools need to integrate new IT tools into their teaching methods while also preparing the citizens of tomorrow for the digital challenge. To start with, the BRIC has provided schools with equipment. The BRIC is now responding to growing brandwidth needs by giving schools a high-speed internet connection. That is one of the main priorities of smartcity.brussels.

Fiber to the School

After providing primary and secondary schools with IT equipment, the BRIC will give them a high-speed internet connection in the Fiber to the School project.

Current connections are no longer able to meet the demads of the digital classroom (including computers, tablets, interactive whiteboards and videoconferencing facilities).

At the end of 2014, 34 secondary schools were connected to the IRISnet optical fibre network with a speed of at least 100 Mbps. These public and independent schools provide technical and general education and belong to both the French-speaking and Dutch-speaking networks. All secondary schools (166) will be connected to IRISnet by 2020, at a rate of 28 per year.

Fiber to the School is implemented by the BRIC and receives funding from the Brussels-Capital Region of one million euros per year, which esuates to an average of €35,000 per school (including all work and cables).