The next time you connect to campus WiFi, you’ll have reason to hope for a better signal. University Information Technology will begin upgrading old access points across campus next week.
1,647 wireless access points are scheduled to be upgraded by February 2016. Several devices are up to eight years old, and no new ones will be installed.
Earl Lewis, project manager, works directly with the contractors to coordinate building access and schedule installations. The upgrades are being done now because Cisco, the company that produced the access points, has ceased software service for the older devices, Lewis said.
“It’s a big infrastructure, and we certainly appreciate people’s patience while we try to make it better,” Lewis said.
Despite the large number of upgrades, the changes only affect about a third of all devices. University Information Technology has more than 4,600 wireless access points across 140 buildings on campus.
Lewis said the installation comes secondary to any academic efforts. Contractors have been instructed to never interrupt classes and accommodate each building’s schedule. Work will occur mostly during the weekends and between 5 p.m. and midnight during the week to minimize degraded signals during class time. They also plan to do the bulk of the work in high-traffic areas like the Marriott Library and the Union during winter break.
The new devices promise several changes to the U’s current WiFi setup.
“They’re using this thing called beamforming technology, which basically means the access point is smart enough to know where the client’s signal is coming from,” Lewis said.
New devices are advertised to be up to three times faster, but Lewis said he is hesitant to promise anything to students due to the variables involved. The new access points are dual band, transmitting at 5 GHz frequency, as well as the current 2.4 GHz. 5 GHz is weaker at penetrating walls and objects but is faster because Bluetooth, cordless phones and even microwaves share the 2.4 GHz band.
Modern smartphones and laptops are advanced enough to know if they should connect to the 5 GHz band, so Lewis hopes dual band access will alleviate WiFi traffic. Many buildings have multiple access points to accommodate for weak signals.
Some students, like Emma Carson, a sophomore in psychology, have had negative experiences with the U’s Internet service, but have varying opinions on the WiFi on campus.
“I went to USU last year, and theirs was really bad,” Carson said. “I’ve always been impressed with the U’s by comparison.”
The WiFi upgrades are happening at the same time as a U network upgrade. University Information Technology has been steadily upgrading obsolete network systems one building at a time across campus.
Upgrades are scheduled to begin Dec. 7.
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