By Whitney Spencer
For years students at the University of Louisville have struggled with the wireless Internet capabilities on campus. From finding the best hot spots to figuring out which network to choose, attempting to connect wirelessly made a trip to the library for an Ethernet connection a normal occurrence.
This past July, the Information Technology department began its three-year plan to implement pervasive wireless connectivity at U of L. This project is set to provide easy wireless network access to all students, faculty, staff and guests on all three campuses.
“The majority of college students prefer to use laptops and mobile phones,” said Priscilla Hancock, vice president of Information Technology. “In order to attract and retain students, the University of Louisville is providing a cutting-edge wireless network to support their device preferences. The project is important because it gives students a robust wireless network that is available across most of the university.”
The project is to be completed in three separate phases with specific time limits. Phase I includes student congregation areas, with an approximation of six months before it is completed. Phase II is comprised of academic areas, including all classrooms, which is to be completed in approximately 15 months. The final phase will take 12 months and will include administrative areas. The timeline for total completion of the project is 36 months.
“Wireless internet in all U of L buildings would be great,” said Natalie Topp, a sophomore political science and economics double major. “They promised it to us last year in residence halls, and yet I’m still using a connection cord.”
While the new system is supposed to improve wireless connectivity on campus, in the meantime students will still have the ability to access Wi-Fi. The current system will be upgraded during the course of the project and will ultimately give users a more stable connection.
The new wireless system is also set to be more secure. Any user with a laptop or cell phone attempting to use the wireless connection must meet specific requirements.
“Any device that can support Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 advanced encryption standard can use the new wireless network,” said Hancock. “WPA2 and AES make sure your wireless device meets minimum security standards when connecting to a wireless network.”
For students who rely on wireless connections on campus to connect to university systems such as ULink and Blackboard, a more reliable system is a welcome improvement.
“I feel like it’s a change that’s long overdue,” said Luis Cardenas, a senior computer engineering and computer science major. “This will benefit students and faculty alike, especially with a fix for the dropping connection problem. I feel like the communication will increase. And the feedback for students living on campus will increase as well, with students being able to access Wi-Fi in their rooms.”
