1st Generation airport express capabilities

There is a good deal of confusion about what is and is not a 1st Generation AirPort Express.

Check and locate the Model No on the side of your AirPort Express.

If you see A1264 there, this model is a 1st Generation product that will support up to 10 wireless connections.

If you see A1084 or A1088 there, these are older "pre-generation" models that only offer up to "g" wireless speeds, not faster "n" speeds.

If you have a 2 Mbps connection, then each of the 8 iPads will be receiving only .25 Mbps. That is going to be "iffy" if you are planning to have all 8 iPads connected simultaneously. If the iPads will be used for very light browsing, you may be OK.

If you plan to download graphics intensive media, or video, I doubt that the 2 Mbps connection will support this acceptably.

Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those times when you will not know if things will work until you actually try them. If it were me, I would go for a faster connection speed....4 Mpbs would be better....8 Mbps better yet.

As Bob Timmons has said 2Mbps wouldn't be enough. I would recommend a business class connection from someone like BT in the UK, if you're not then I don't know any overseas ISPs too well to recommend one.