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Jamaica Ministry of Education – Case Study

by | Dec 3, 2025 | blogs | 0 comments

The Challenge

Jamaica’s Ministry of Education needed to connect over 1,000 schools with reliable Wi-Fi, but faced severe budget constraints.
Their initial plan using Ruckus hardware would leave many schools unconnected (due to the high cost)—an unacceptable outcome for the government.
They required a solution that could deliver enterprise-grade quality and scalability at a significantly lower cost.

Key Requirements

  • Scalability: Manage over 10,000 access points and switches across hundreds of sites.
    •Reliability: High-quality, remotely managed network without on-site IT resources.
    •Vendor Flexibility: Avoid vendor lock-in to prevent inflated pricing.
    •Real-Time Oversight: Role-based dashboards for the Prime Minister’s Office, central IT, and local administrators.
    •Cost Efficiency: A system that meets national-scale demands within strict budget limits.
    •Unified Management: Single pane of glass for both Ruckus and new OpenWiFi deployments.

The Solution

MsTECH, a Jamaican MSP, secured the contract and identified OpenWiFi and OpenLAN—managed by NetExperience—as the ideal combination for scalability and affordability.
To achieve unified management across both Ruckus and OpenWiFi networks, MsTECH partnered with WiBuz, integrating its API-driven wibipOS with the NetExperience platform.
Within weeks, a fully interoperable, vendor-agnostic system was operational, enabling seamless management across technologies.

Deployment Phases

Phase 1: 3,150 Ruckus APs deployed across 364 schools.

Phase 2: 700+ schools, 5,600 additional APs, and 2,088 switches using OpenWiFi (Actiontec, Edgecore) and OpenLAN (Edgecore, Cybertan).

Why the Project Succeeded

  1. Vendor Independence: NetExperience’s platform supports mixed hardware deployments, avoiding lock-in and reducing licensing costs.
  2. Enterprise-Grade Reliability & Reduced Operational Costs: Scalable management with advanced, remote troubleshooting, zero-touch provisioning, and enterprise-quality hardware from Edgecore, Actiontec, and Cybertan.
  3. User-Driven Dashboards: Role-based, multi-tenant views provided visibility for all levels—from government executives to school administrators.

Results

  • Over 8,700 APs deployed across 1,000+ schools.
    • Budget compliance achieved without sacrificing performance.
    • Simplified management and operational transparency for the Ministry of Education. 
    • The project set a model for future government ICT infrastructure initiatives.

Future Planning

Building on this success, the government is now evaluating WiBuz and NetExperience solutions for other ministries, aiming to: 
• Centralize multi-ministry command and control. 
• Diversify hardware procurement to avoid single-vendor dependency. 
• Leverage economies of scale across government departments.

Lessons for MSPs

  • Vendor Lock-In Is Avoidable: MsTECH demonstrated the power of open, interoperable networks.
    • Seamless Ruckus + OpenWiFi Integration: NetExperience and WiBuz deliver unified control for hybrid environments.
    • Scalable, Replicable Model: This approach can extend to other enterprise vendors (e.g., Meraki, Aruba) alongside OpenWiFi.

The Red Cross continues to set the standard for delivering critical support where it’s needed most. Following the recent hurricane, their rapid response and commitment to community recovery highlight the importance of reliable, scalable aid—just as this project does for national connectivity. Anyone wishing to support relief efforts can do so through the Red Cross disaster response page: redcross.org/donate/hurricane.

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