IIJ Launches IIJ GIGA School Solution, Ideal for "after-GIGA School," Where Learning Terminals Are Fully Utilized

PDF [580KB] / Japanese

TOKYO - March 28, 2022 - Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (TSE1: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced the launch of IIJ GIGA School Solution, which supports the construction and operation of an optimal network environment under the GIGA School Initiative implemented by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) for local governments and boards of education nationwide. The program aims to provide each student in Japan with a terminal and a high-speed network environment for learning.
IIJ GIGA School Solution provides a one-stop service that identifies issues in internet utilization in the GIGA school environment, visualizes the status of internet usage, provides consulting services to eliminate bottlenecks, builds a stable communications environment, and provides centralized security operation and management. This will solve the "slow or disconnected Internet" problem and create an "after-GIGA School environment" that will allow students and educators to comfortably use the Internet for years to come.

Under the GIGA School Initiative, which began in earnest in April 2020, 97.6% of compulsory education schools had installed terminals and 97.9% of schools had completed the installation of on-campus networks as of the end of April 2021(*), and have entered the phase of "full-scale use of learning terminals by each individual child." Even with faster school networks, however, there have been reports of disruption of online classes and events due to tight bandwidth on Internet and WAN. This is attributable to increased traffic due to the use of cloud applications, video viewing, remote classes, and other activities. Moreover, the data centers of local governments and boards of education, which aggregate the lines from each school, often become bottlenecks, preventing smooth communications. On the other hand, even if each school installs its own Internet line without going through the data center (local breakout) to avoid line congestion, there are cost and operational issues such as high line charges and the need to implement individual security measures.

• (*)See "Progress of ICT Environment Improvement for Realization of GIGA School Initiative (Preliminary Figures) (as of March 31, 2021)" by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
  https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20210315-mxt_jogai01-000009827_001.pdf (Japanese text)

Based on the GIGA School Initiative, IIJ has provided the boards of education of Yokohama City, Shiga Prefecture, Kashiwa City, Ichikawa City, and others with SD-WAN, Internet access, various security services, and operation and maintenance services. By leveraging these experiences, IIJ will start providing IIJ GIGA School Solution to resolve the aforementioned issues and to realize an "after-GIGA School Environment," a high-quality, stable communication environment that can be used with confidence in the future.

Provision concept

Key features of this solution

Visualization of WAN utilization

WAN traffic flow contents are analyzed using high-performance visualization equipment to bring various characteristics to light. A report is provided on the actual status and problems of application utilization – that can't be visualized through traffic graphs or network device load status - for each organization and school individually.

Consulting to eliminate bottlenecks

IIJ provides consulting services to investigate and identify bottlenecks in the customer's environment, such as network speed issues that could not be diagnosed, and propose ways to resolve them. IIJ also provides a comprehensive report on the means, costs, and timeframe required to resolve the problem, and assist the customers in planning future investment and procurement.

Optimization of Internet connection environment (commercial ISP, SINET, etc.)

Leveraging its extensive know-how as Japan's first commercial ISP, IIJ proposes the optimal Internet connection environment for its customers. Furthermore, we support connection to the Science Information Network (SINET) operated by the National Institute of Informatics (NII) for municipalities and boards of education that have been approved to subscribe(*) to the network.

• (*)An organization or group that has been approved as a member of the NII SINET in accordance with the rules for subscription and compliance requirements set forth in the bylaws.

Provides fully managed operations outsourcing services

IIJ provides a variety of Internet access services, a complete set of equipment comprising an Internet gateway, and installation of FLET'S lines to the school in a single package, and reduces the customer's network operation load by providing centralized operation and maintenance.

Launch date

March 28, 2022

Offer price

Estimates issued on an individual basis

• For more information on this solution, please visit the link below.
  https://www.iij.ad.jp/biz/giga_school/ (Only in Japanese)

IIJ will continue to support network operation and management after the implementation of the GIGA School Initiative by providing a high-quality communications environment that allows educational institutions to comfortably and securely use the Internet.

The statements within this release contain forward-looking statements about our future plans that involve risk and uncertainty. These statements may differ materially from actual future events or results.

For inquiries, contact

IIJ Corporate Communications

• +81-3-5205-6310
• +81-3-5205-6377
• press@iij.ad.jp

• (*) All company names and service names used in this press release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.