Regional Broadband Consortia
The RBCs are consortia of local authorities established to procure cost-effective broadband connectivity for schools in England. There are 10 RBCs covering 139 of the 150 local authorities:
The 'opt-out' authorities are:
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At the request of the Department for Education and Skills, JANET(UK) has interconnected all of the RBCs and some of the 'opt-out' authorities via the SuperJANET backbone. This takes the form of an access link from each RBC/LA network's entry point to the most convenient backbone point of presence. An important use of the interconnect is to act as the conduit for IP videoconferencing and the delivery of common content, e.g. the British Pathe News Archive and Curriculum Online. It will also enable more effective collaboration between schools within separate RBC/LA networks.
In March 2004, in conjunction with the RBCs, JANET(UK) produced a series of guidance documents for RBCs, local authorities and schools. These cover the areas of Network Design, Security and Videoconferencing.
In collaboration with the RBC Technical Group, JANET(UK) has developed a national E.164 addressing scheme for local authorities and RBCs wishing to implement videoconferencing services.
Schools in England are now interconnected to all of the Universities and Colleges in England via the JANET Network.