It is the duty of those shaping student experience to provide no barriers to learning and to meet the demands of increasingly more sophisticated entertainment technologies. As early-adopters, students are a strong indicator for the future of technology. If education and accommodation institutions don't start to evolve and break down technological boundaries they will miss out on the next generation of applications.
Dependency on fast, reliable, pervasive and high-speed Wi-Fi will only increase as students need higher bandwidth. Forecasts indicate that 8K streaming will become mainstream by 2023 to satisfy the growing demand for 8K televisions, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime and online gaming networks like Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Glide Gigabit is future-proof against the rise of Ultra High Definition (UHD), empowering students to take advantage of the latest consumer technology and explore high bandwidth learning and research without limitations.
8K resolution, also known as 8K UHD, is the highest resolution television (UHDTV) currently available. A conservative estimate is that an 8K movie will be five hundred gigabytes. To download an 8K movie on a gigabit connection would take just over an hour. Streaming an 8K movie will require a 100Mbps (Megabits per second) connection. Glide Gigabit technology will deliver hyperfast broadband to every student in a Purpose Built Student Accommodation development to satisfy demand and ensure sufficient bandwidth for everyone to stream 8K. Student entertainment, gaming and learning expectations will be met for the foreseeable future with broadband and capacity for state-of-art streaming and any media format downloaded in minutes.
The students of the future will demand competitive pricing with no data usage caps and high bandwidth from a low latency wireless infrastructure. This is brought into sharp focus by the future of online gaming
Gaming in the cloud
Google Stadia is a cloud game streaming service launched by Google in 2019. The evolution of cloud gaming is significant. Games run in a Google data centre and stream over the internet to a Chrome Browser or on a TV using a Chromecast. The hardware required to play the game is more affordable because the game is run on a Google server however, the game runs at 4K and 60 frames per second and depends on a high bandwidth, low latency broadband connection. Before anyone can play games on Google Stadia they need to complete and pass a broadband speed test. If you don’t pass the speed test - you can’t play the game. This will continue to be the case as online gaming technology evolves.
Vlogging in the cloud
YouTube has given rise to a new generation of celebrities or Vloggers with millions of followers aspiring to produce amazing online content, generate a following and clout. The stars of YouTube are empowered by a unique set of skills like digital content creation, videography including post production and social media marketing. The applications and technology the modern Vlogger relies upon to produce content in a timely fashion will ultimately be moved into the cloud.
Adobe Creative Cloud and Final Cut Pro are two of the applications that set the pace of technological advances in video editing in the cloud. Adobe Creative Cloud is a set of applications that gives subscribers access to software used for graphic design, video editing, photography and mobile applications optimised for cloud services. In 2019, Adobe Creative Cloud comes with up to 10 terabytes (10,000 gigabytes) of online cloud storage.
Processing massive video files in the cloud rather than a laptop means all the number crunching is done by a more powerful computer. Aspiring content creators don’t have to spend loads of money on a high power PC to edit videos - all they need is a laptop or smartphone powerful enough to run a web browser and log in to the cloud. The cloud is perfect for collaboration with all the files available remotely so teams of content creators can combine their skills to add audio or effects to videos and streamline the production process and the final product can be shared directly with YouTube. As video editing technology evolves it will increasingly depend on a high bandwidth, low latency broadband connection.
What happens when online gaming and vlogging in the cloud converge?
Faze Dirty is a 21 year old Call of Duty player and plays online with a gaming team called Faze. Faze started five years ago and is one of the most popular gaming teams with 7 million YouTube subscribers. Faze has two teams. One is a competitive team that plays against other teams in gaming tournaments. The other team, which Faze Dirty plays for is responsible for making entertaining Call of Duty gameplay videos. Faze has an editing team and a graphics team all earning a salary as part of a sophisticated hybrid media, gaming and vlogging organisation.
These are the early-adopters of technology and high net-worth individuals of the future, earning a living in 2019 from what could be considered a hobby. Simultaneously streaming and gaming is dependent on the constant flow of uploaded and downloaded data. Any interruptions to that stream seriously hurt gaming performance and the quality of the content and, in this instance, seriously affect the earning potential and the development of the gaming team. The popularity of similar career paths and the evolution of student experiences make a high bandwidth, low latency broadband connection essential in meeting expectations.
What else will students expect in the Purpose Built Student Accommodation of the future?
Sky continue to promote their own brand of Virtual Reality (VR). This series of 360° videos featuring David Beckham or Anthony Joshua are designed to showcase a technology in the early stages of development. The live broadcasts of major sporting events or the theatre will eventually be viewed through a virtual reality headset and require significant bandwidth. Early estimates are that a VR broadcast will require a connection 33x higher than Netflix’s UHD streaming. A VR video stream in 4K resolution will need a 500Mbps connection to run fluidly. Virtual Reality has the potential to disrupt the media, gaming, and any number of other industries, yet it also has the potential to be undone by inadequate supporting technology like broadband speed.
Help is on hand for Purpose Built Student Accommodation operators.
Students raised on smartphones depend on technology. Almost all plan on attending university and a further 73% rank high speed internet as the most important feature of their accommodation. In this competitive new market, Glide Gigabit is the perfect way for operators to differentiate their properties and maintain 100% occupancy and profitability.
UK student accommodation has seen record levels of investment with property developers providing student accommodation (PBSA) in every major city with great locations, hotel-type amenities and easy transport links to universities. The extra choice brings competition amongst accommodation operators - competition on price, location, entertainment and student experience. Glide Gigabit presents a unique opportunity for UK operators to leap ahead of the competition with the right brand of student experience and best-in-class student broadband.
Why Glide?
Glide are the first student broadband specialist to offer gigabit broadband to student accommodation. 350,000 students across the UK could benefit from gigabit broadband connections creating future-proof Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) for the next generation. Best of all, Glide Gigabit is available now.
In summary, Glide’s innovative and cost-effective approach to delivering Wi-Fi across the UK using our own fibre network means more ownership and control and more freedom and ownership to deliver almost limitless speed like Glide Gigabit. New customers benefit from an established and robust infrastructure and with comprehensive UK coverage, the chances are that a new property is close to the Glide National Network, keeping connection costs down.
Managed Internet Service for University and Student Accommodation
Enhance your students’ online experience with better Wi-Fi for student accommodation. From in depth monthly service reports, annual reviews, marketing materials to a student friendly Service Desk and onsite support, Glide will provide everything you need for a fully reliable managed internet service for both you and your students.
Wi-Fi for Student Accommodation
Students want to be constantly connected, wherever they are. Glide’s best in class intelligent pervasive Wi-Fi means that students can enjoy a seamless internet connection across their multiple devices wherever they are in their student accommodation. Plus, all the support they need.
Get in touch with a member of our team to find out about our fully managed internet service. Call us on 03333 800 800 or drop us an email at glidestudent@glide.co.uk, or find out more details on our website.
