Durrant Pate/Contributor

New York-based IT company WiBUZ has been named ‘Technology Partner of the Year’ at the recently held 2025 Broadband Communities Awards for delivering a vendor-agnostic Wi-Fi network in Jamaica.

Presented last month in Houston, the award highlights WiBUZ’s innovative wibipOS platform, which was instrumental in a groundbreaking project connecting over 360 schools across Jamaica with reliable, multi-vendor Wi-Fi infrastructure. The challenge was daunting, according to WiBUZ’s nomination.

The project, undertaken by the Ministry of Education, sought to connect more than 1,000 schools nationwide without succumbing to the pitfalls of proprietary vendor lock-in, a common issue in large-scale network deployments. The technology was bought by the ministry as clear, scalable, cost-efficient, and future-proof connectivity capable of integrating emerging technologies like private 5G and IoT (the Internet of Things). 

Executed within strict budget constraints 

The project was executed within strict budget constraints and minimal research and development overhead. Local consulting firm MS Tech Solutions Limited partnered with WiBUZ to deploy the wibipOS API-first platform, which was specifically chosen for its ability to seamlessly integrate hardware from multiple vendors.

WiBUZ says this approach significantly reduced risk and costs. Furthermore, 3,150 Ruckus access points were deployed across 364 schools in just 90 days; 50 per cent faster than typical industry timelines, setting a new benchmark for rapid connectivity deployment in education. The project’s success stemmed largely from the flexibility and scalability of wibipOS.

WiBUZ said its API connectors enabled integration with Ruckus and TIP OpenWiFi hardware from vendors like Actiontec and NetExperience, empowering the ministry to select optimal solutions based on performance and cost rather than vendor limitations.

The modular, reusable architecture also simplified network management with customised dashboards tailored for diverse stakeholders, from the Office of the Prime Minister to local school administrators, ensuring clear visibility and operational efficiency.

WiBUZ’s embedded expertise 

Key to the deployment’s smooth execution was WiBUZ’s embedded expertise delivered through LiveSDK, which provided MS Tech with real-time engineering support and rapid development capabilities without necessitating extensive internal resources.

WiBUZ says the collaboration accelerated timelines, enhanced project stability, and enabled seamless multi-vendor network scaling. Importantly, the avoidance of vendor lock-in also translated into significant cost savings of around 40 per cent, allowing the ministry to redirect funds toward educational initiatives rather than technology overheads.

Looking ahead, the wibipOS platform has laid a future-ready foundation for Jamaica’s educational infrastructure.