With the new semester come new strategies for addressing issues with SVSU’s wireless network.
These include an update to the wiring infrastructure and an upgrade of bandwidth, especially in residential areas.
According to Executive Director of Information Technology Services James Maher, a substantial evaluation revealed a need to upgrade the wireless and residential network system.
The upgrade should be completed by this fall, as the majority of work will be done between February and late June or July.
SVSU’s Student Association has created an ad-hoc committee to serve as a link between the administration regarding Internet connectivity issues.
“Wi-Fi absolutely remains a problem on campus,” said committee chair and political science senior Jacob Mojica. “With this ad-hoc committee, we want to make sure that student concerns are represented and that this issue still remains at the forefront of the administration’s priorities.”
A long-term solution is in the works, and the department of Information Technology Services is also offering short-term solutions for the time being.
“We’ve had a project plan for a while,” Director of Technology and Support Services Larry Emmons said. “We knew what we needed to do, and we’ve just been approved for the materials to do so.”
The department has begun visits to every dorm room on SVSU’s campus to inquire about residents’ wireless connections.
“If students aren’t there, we’ll leave a sign … with tips to help with any problems,” Emmons said. “If students are there and have issues, we’ll solve it there or make a ticket.”
Mojica said informing students of what is happening is a priority for Student Association.
“For now, we are working to direct students to the short-term solutions that (Information Technology Services) has laid out,” he said. “Then, we want make sure that all students are informed of the (long-term) proposal as the details come out.”
The department will also be able to set up several hotel-style access points in dorm rooms to enhance small areas of coverage.
“If students are having specific issues while we are upgrading the infrastructure, we can use these to help with coverage issues as a temporary solution,” Maher explained.
According to Mojica, connectivity over the entire campus is the long-term goal.
“We are advocating to make sure that all residential facilities and areas on campus are fully blanketed in Wi-Fi, and that students are able to walk across campus and have that access to connectivity,” he said.
Work to upgrade infrastructure will begin in University Village, Emmons said, because of the large number of wireless issues the area often has.
The department will then focus on Pine Grove, the Living Centers and the First Year Suites.
“Every time we complete a chunk of infrastructure, we’ll turn on the upgraded wireless,” Emmons said.
The administration is expected to present a long-term improvement plan to the Board of Control in February that will upgrade the bandwidth of the school. According to Mojica, the anticipated investment required by the plan will be approximately $1.3 million.
Other short-term solutions include fairness and slow talkers configurations, which have already been put in place.
“The fairness configuration is implemented on the main campus area,” Emmons said. “It gives every wireless device the same amount of time to do whatever it wants.”
“Before, whoever grabbed the channel could use as much time as they wanted,” Maher added. “Now with equal time chunks, faster devices can get more done. Slower devices may appear to take a little longer as a result.”
The slow talkers configuration also allows for more efficient service.
According to Emmons, this configuration slows network communication the further a device is away from an access point. Then, if the connection goes below one megabyte per second, the device is dropped until it hits another access point.
“All in all though, we are absolutely still here and if students have any difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact us,” Maher said. “Using the Service Manage System is the best way for us to hear about your issue and be held accountable.”
In the next few weeks, Student Association will be conducting a survey of students regarding their experience with the Wi-Fi on campus, including whether or not students would be willing to pay a slightly higher technology fee for better service.
“We get a pretty steady flow of word-of-mouth complaints about the Wi-Fi. This is a problem,” Mojica said. “We want to translate that onto paper and be able to show that this is the feedback from students.”
