Case Study: James Cook University achieves seamless campus-wide 802.11ac Wi‑Fi for 22,000 students with HPE Aruba Networking

James Cook University - Customer Case Study

James Cook University (JCU), a multi-campus tertiary institution in Queensland (Townsville, Cairns) and Singapore with about 22,000 students, needed a future‑proof wireless solution to deliver high‑density indoor and outdoor coverage, scalable campus‑wide connectivity, strong access control, and simpler management to improve student engagement and retention.

JCU deployed over 2,700 Aruba 802.11ac indoor/outdoor APs with 7200 Series Mobility Controllers, ArubaOS 8 (Mobility Master), ClearPass and AirWave, using AirMatch RF optimisation and controller clustering for high availability. The rollout delivers pervasive Wi‑Fi for students, staff and guests, simplifies administration, supports campus IoT research, boosts attendance and engagement, and enables future services like Meridian wayfinding and beacon notifications.

James Cook University

Swain Kirk

Head of ICT Infrastructure Services