Bradley Collaborates with T-Mobile and Apple to Launch Digitally Connected Campus

Bradley University is partnering with T-Mobile to establish a student-centric, digitally connected campus, which will be powered by T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (ANS).

T-Mobile is providing significant investments in broader network infrastructure and additional services to implement this initiative with Bradley. In Fall 2024, as part of this multi-year collaboration, students, full-time faculty, and many student-facing staff will receive iPad (10th generation), along with a Bradley-branded keyboard case and an unlimited T-Mobile data plan with hotspot capabilities. T-Mobile’s 5G ANS will allow Bradley to utilize a hybrid mobile network that provides faster speeds, lower latency and dedicated reliability to enrich Bradley’s learning environment and create an ecosystem supportive of academic and operational innovation.

This effort has a total value of more than $30 million. Bradley will enable each iPad with education and creativity apps, and leverage Apple’s deep expertise in education to offer training sessions and set best practices to generate truly impactful outcomes across campus.

“We are excited to leverage iPad and T-Mobile's 5G ANS within and beyond the classroom to improve digital equity on our campus and to aid our talented faculty and staff's ongoing efforts in fostering a highly supportive and innovative learning environment,” said Christopher Jones, Ph.D., Vice President for Strategy and Innovation for Bradley University. “Through the Digitally Connected Campus initiative, Bradley has the potential to become a genuine exemplar in contemporary higher education.”

Nationwide, the digital divide in higher education creates significant disadvantages for the more than half of college students who experience stress from unreliable internet or device problems. This new initiative will help bridge that gap and improve Bradley’s capacity to provide an equitable educational experience.

“We are honored that T-Mobile sees Bradley University as the campus to launch this flagship educational experience,” said Stephen Standifird, Ph.D., President, Bradley University. “We are confident that by providing students an iPad along with an unlimited T-Mobile data plan, Bradley can differentiate itself by advancing a true sense of community and belonging through equitable digital access that is unmatched by any other university in the nation.”

The implementation of the 5G infrastructure will begin soon. The first devices will be distributed to full-time faculty early in the Fall 2023 semester. As the 2023-2024 academic year unfolds, the deployment of devices will extend to “discovery cohorts” of students that will represent approximately 25% of the student body. There will then be a full launch in Fall 2024 to include students, full-time faculty, and certain student-facing staff.

–Libby Derry