OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Students, faculty, staff and visitors at Vanderbilt University and Medical Center (VUMC) will now have additional wireless connectivity on campus. Sprint (NYSE:S), a long-time provider of wireless services to this campus, will provide an upgrade to the existing system, including additional network coverage on both the Nationwide Sprint Network and the Nextel National Network covering eight buildings on campus, an area of 3.8 million square feet.
In 2004, Sprint installed an in-building system throughout the medical center at the university, including four CDMA and two iDEN towers on campus, a Sprint retail location on-site, and a dedicated account sales and support team housed on the campus. Advancements in technology, infrastructure modifications, and upgrades at VUMC increased the demand for additional network capability on the campus.
With the new expansion of Sprint's in-building solutions, VUMC employees and staff will have access to Sprint's suite of differentiated solutions, including Sprint Mobile Broadband, Group Connect and Nextel Direct Connect.
The Vanderbilt Office of Emergency Communications (Flight Com), which operates much like a 911 dispatch center, will use Nextel handsets to dispatch and maintain two-way communications with internally tiered emergency response teams within the medical center. Those teams include trauma, STAT, RRT and paramedics. "The Nextel Direct Connect functionality allows dispatchers to simultaneously dispatch large groups of responders and support staff," explained Jeff Gray, communications manager for Vanderbilt LifeFlight and the office of Emergency Communications. "Previously all dispatch to these teams was done by pager. Responders now have reliable two-way communications with dispatch that allows for additional directions or resources."
Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S)