Case Study: Boingo Wireless Enhances Learning Experience at Sheppard Air Force Base

Sheppard Air Force Base is the largest and most diverse training base in the Air Education and Training Command, home to the 82nd Training Wing and the 80th Flying Training Wing. It is responsible for training more than 40% of all basic training graduates, as well as training combat pilots for 14 NATO partners.

CHALLENGE

Base leadership desired a secure, base-wide Wi-Fi network to create an uninterrupted learning environment – covering training facilities, classrooms, and dormitories – across more than 50 buildings in all. The Wi-Fi network needed to power:

• Immersive learning experiences for both technical and flying training
• Advanced services like simulated learning environments
• Enriched digital training experiences
• Hybrid learning and coursework for use in the dormitories

BOINGO SOLUTION

Leveraging a combination of advanced wireless services, Boingo designed, installed and manages a fast, secure base-wide Wi-Fi solution throughout Sheppard Air Force Base training classrooms, flight hangars and housing quarters. Access points connect to a centralized controller from one building to another in a chain, moving up to the head-end, and then finally to the controller in a centralized data center. These link hops can range up to several miles, requiring a complex design with built-in network redundancies to ensure no overlap of frequencies. The result? Ubiquitous and seamless Wi-Fi coverage.

Working closely with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Boingo’s Wi-Fi network enhances the professional military education of pilots as well as the airmen overseeing avionics maintenance, flight equipment, fuels, aerospace ground equipment, civil and electrical engineering, and telecommunications. This base-wide connectivity approach delivers an uninterrupted Boingo internet connection wherever Sheppard students are learning.

OUTCOME

“Military education is evolving with new technologies, requiring strong network infrastructure for advanced digital training programs,” said Rebecca Gray, senior vice president and general manager, military at Boingo. “By connecting Sheppard’s classrooms and dorms with state-of-the-art Boingo Wi-Fi, we are creating a more interactive learning environment across the base that will better prepare airmen for future operations. It is a privilege to support the base’s air education and training command with high-performance Wi-Fi networks.”

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Boingo’s military products include Wi-Fi and fiber network services for troops living in the barracks and on-base family housing; connectivity for commercial locations on base including gyms, classrooms, and offices; macro towers and small cells for seamless cellular service; and private cellular solutions for connected operations and secure 5G and IoT deployments on base. In addition to Sheppard Air Force Base, more than 80 U.S. military bases around the world leverage Boingo wireless solutions.

Learn more about Boingo’s military and government solutions by contacting us at sales@boingo.com.