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Features
Special Series: Technology and the CEO >> Part 4 Wireless on Campus
7/22/2005
Caveats
Ethernet installations are essential for high-traffic, ultra-secure applications. Engineering, design, database, and other traditional uses require the bandwidth and stability inherent in Ethernet, which is a mature technology. Wireless, on the other hand, is an emerging process. While security is rapidly evolving to meet the needs of all administrators, there are still shortcomings that may allow unauthenticated users to “sniff” for a wireless network, and access it unannounced and unknown to IT staff, with resulting loss of data or damage to the network.
Wireless speed also deteriorates somewhat as the number of users increases on each access point. As with technology in general, there is also the probable cost involved in upgrading backbone switches to accommodate newer security needs and improvements in desktop and laptop configurations. These expenses, however, would be necessary whether or not wireless was installed. This is not to say that wireless cannot be effectively utilized in a university setting. Campuses with older Ethernet installations are actually in an excellent position to take advantage of wireless technology. Most universities, in the rush to become wired in the early ’90s, installed Ethernet in each residence hall room, classroom, lab, lounge, café, and library on campus.
With this installed base in place, adding access points in strategic locations (to service the entire student population) builds upon that investment. If a residence hall room, for instance, has one or two jacks and three to four students, wireless access points (at an approximate cost of $500 each, per floor, versus $250 to $350 per room, for Ethernet) would enable all students and visitors with wireless laptops or desktops to access the network without cables or in-room switches. Adding wireless to a popular gathering spot enables students to check e-mail, send messages and files to friends or professors across campus, and allows collaboration on a scale impossible even three or four years ago.
Side Benefits of Wireless
The growing pervasiveness of this technology has simple origins: As consumers, incoming students may have been accustomed to it at home, if their high-speed connections involve wireless routers and network cards (very few homes have been hardwired for access). If they stop in for coffee at a local café, or venture into a well-equipped public or university library, chances are they can surf freely.
In short, students may not necessarily see wireless as the deciding factor in choosing a school, but those schools with wireless offer a certain comfort level and project an image of providing leading, if not bleeding-edge, technology for potential attendees. Adequate bandwidth in the residence halls, coupled with sufficient classroom technology including wireless, is now an essential part of providing a well-rounded education.
When was the last time you saw a college (or junior high, or high school) student without a cell phone? Again, familiarity with portable wireless devices allows most students to embrace the “unplugged” world. Add to this the proliferation of PDAs, wireless printers, keyboards, and mice, and a student could conceivably go through four years of college without tripping over a wire.
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