Information for Student Accommodation Providers

Please find below a range of questions and answers. If you feel that these do not answer your queries or you would like to discuss what Hornet can offer your Private Hall of Residence, please contact Hornet.

Email: Crispin Bloomfield

What is on offer?

Hornet is the premier internet service operator running over the UK’s Joint Academic Network (JaNet). It is 100% operated and owned by The University of Manchester. The service provides high-speed, fixed cost Internet access to student accommodation within the Manchester area. The system is based on industry standard infrastructure operating to the highest standards. Hornet also uniquely offers dedicated services to its end users including.

A dedicated Online Computer Store, offering significant savings and same day shipping

A range of entertainment services:- Online Gaming, IPTV, VoIP.

Access to academic resources located at the following institutions MMU, University of Manchester

Access to general web resources at high speed, no contention ratios or capping of downloads

What will it cost you?

There are currently two revenue share models:

Model 1

The University meets the cost of designing, installing and maintaining the system. Hornet also completely indemnify the developer, and the developer’s agents, such as the management company, with regard to any liability arising from the service. This is a no-cost, no-risk way to add value to your development, the end users of the system pay the University directly for the services.

Model 2

If you already have suitable infrastructure and network hardware assets, the University will charge for the installation of dedicated high speed ‘Dark Fibre’ link direct from the University’s data centre to the premises. Based on this infrastructure model, Hornet operates a competitive revenue share agreement with the premise owner. The premise owner is then responsible for taking payments for the service and meeting annual leasing costs for the Dark Fibre and the hardware assets. The premise owner will then be invoiced on a quarterly basis for all subscriptions at the agreed revenue share agreement.

What does the system provide?

The system provides subscribers with a High Speed, always-on, un-metered Internet access. Unlike other commercial operators there is no cap on the traffic to the end user and the bandwidth is dedicated to each end user. With Hornet the bandwidth is not split between a number of users.

The subscriber pays a fixed yearly cost and then has direct access to the Internet at dedicated speeds of 10Mbps which up to 10 times those of a standard 2Mbps broadband connection, a huge advantage of Hornet is that the users have a 10Mbps connection with 0 contention ratio and no capping of downloads, unlike broadband provider which generally operate a 25:1 connection ratio and capped monthly usage.

Hornet subscribers can do anything over their Internet connection that they can do with any other type of Internet connection – only a lot quicker!

For the security of the network and to indemnify the University and Accommodation Sector Partners against potential legal action, there are restrictions on the content which can be downloaded, the operation of servers and active network components and the use of P2P software. This is necessary to meet the University’s AUP and the JaNET user regulations.

What does the Hornet infrastructure involve?

The Hornet system comprises of a fixed wired connection. Each student bedroom is connected over Category 5E cabling to a enterprise class network switch in each service core. These network switches are in turn connected to a fibre optic backbone that connects to the University’s core backbone and the JaNET network which then in turn connects to the Global Internet. Monitoring, management and control equipment is located at the network interconnects to ensure that the end user receives an unsurpassed level of service.

What guarantees do I have that the system will work?

All the components of the system are provided by and guaranteed by world-leading suppliers.

The switching equipment used to interconnect all the points on a site is provided by Cisco systems, the world leading telecommunications equipment manufacturer, currently capitalised at some £78 Billion and carries a warranty providing for 24-hour equipment replacement in the unlikely event that anything should fail.

All active parts of the system are constantly monitored from the University’s Network Operation centre. If any part of the system is unavailable for any three consecutive ten-second periods, an engineer is notified, day or night.

How does this compare with other broadband offerings?

Because the system is based on dedicated academic network (JaNET) we have a distinct advantage over any other ISP as the JaNET infrastructure, has been specifically designed to handle data to and from the academic community, therefore levels of performance, current capacity and capacity for future growth are far superior than those of any other teleco provider at present all halls operated by Hornet have a dedicated bandwidth of 1Gbps/1000Mbps which is far superior than other ISP offering of 100Mbps leased lines. Other benefits include the facility to access not only the University of Manchester’s central infrastructure but that of partnering Universities (including Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU).

The presentation to the end user of a fixed network socket within the study bedroom, means that connecting subscribers to the system and authorising their access Hornet is very straight forward too. The system is ready to be used from the very moment that the first resident moves in. A typical subscriber connection can be completed in less than three minutes.

Why should I install Hornet at my development?

Modern University courses and teaching methods require students reading degrees or researching their field to be able to access information, on-line resources and teaching materials as part of their academic studies. Such people tend to be looking for the very highest level of specification, speed and bandwidth are now key and Hornet has the benefit of being able to offer this with dedicated 10Mbps for each user and access to both academic and social content with its direct links to the University of Manchester and JaNET. Installing the Hornet Services adds, without cost or risk, an additional selling point to the development.

This allows your site to provide Internet access which directly links into the infrastructure of the University of Manchester, allows residents access to information, resources and applications – something else that distinguishes your development from the rest.

Is the system future-proof?

The system is based on dedicated infrastructure, designed specifically to handle data. The capacity of the system can be increased in the future to meet the continued needs of both the teaching and learning strategies of the University. The physical infrastructure can withstand hundred-fold increases in traffic and still provide adequate capacity without any structural cabling changes. This means that there is no disruption to the site or to the site’s residents, producing an unparalleled facility for future growth. Hornet can therefore guarantee that subscribers will continue to receive a world-beating service for the life of a development.

How is the Hornet system designed and implemented?

Initially, Hornet work from plans to devise a scheme suitable for a development; the specifics will depend on the size of the site, the number of units, the location of the site and the target market.

Hornet has experience of carrying out installations for clients in a number of ways and can tailor solutions to client needs. This means that Hornet can fit in with build-schedules, site phasing and build contracts. The adaptive installation schedule that Hornet offers can therefore be customized to fit a particular build program.

In our experience, it has proven most effective for the electrical contractors to pull cable supplied by Hornet at the same time that other cable runs, such as telephone and TV are installed. After this The University of Manchester can request a nominated contractor to go in at a later date to terminate and test the cabling. This eliminates timing problems and ensures that clear lines of responsibility are maintained.

What does the system cost the subscriber?

Please request for full details of our user packages, as these can be tailored per site.

In generally fees are maintained around £130 per year for a 38 week Undergraduate contract.

Who are Hornet?

The Student Internet services section of The University of Manchester was formed in 1998 to provide the very best IT support and Internet services to the students of the University of Manchester and UMIST. In October 2004 the Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST merged to form The University of Manchester.

The delivered services from two leading UK universities merged to develop a unique idea – affordable, high speed, Internet access for residential students of The University of Manchester and private sector landlords. The Hornet Service is a 100% University owned product provided by IT Services and Sports Trading and Residential Services at The University of Manchester.

The group’s management team have a variety of backgrounds including the Commercial IT sector, property development, finance, academia and computer networking. This combination gives the Hornet Services Team the experience to deliver world class academic connectivity and exceptional value for money.

What sort of developments is Hornet suitable for?

Certain developments are more appropriate than others for a Hornet system installation. For Hornet installations we look at developments of 60 plus bedrooms in the proximity to the University’s Oxford Road Corridor and campus.

The target market for our service are the students of the University of Manchester and the City’s other institutions. Consequently the system is more appropriate for purpose built student accommodation and type developments than, for example, suburban housing where we have other products which meet the market sector. If you have a smaller property then HornetPLUS may be the solution you are looking for.

We will, however, consider each and every development on its own merits, and are more than happy to work with developers to ensure that we achieve an appropriate end result. If you would like to discuss what Hornet can offer your Private Hall of Residence, please contact Crispin Bloomfield.