Although wireless Internet access will be activated on Friday in LXR, the second residence hall to receive new wireless access this academic year, it is unclear whether the University will fulfill its commitment of installing wireless service in every dormitory by the end of the semester.
While expansion to the Walsh building is scheduled for this summer, University Information Services is waiting to announce activation dates for the remaining residence halls that do not have wireless capabilities, including Alumni Square, Darnall Hall, Harbin Hall, Henle Village, Village A, and Village C.
According to UIS Director Beth Ann Bergsmark, the University must obtain the necessary permits and finish construction to support an increased power demand before making additional plans for those residences.
“We are waiting for these activities to be completed before we can announce dates for the remaining halls,” she said earlier this week.
Last July, Bergsmark claimed that the project would “definitely” be finished by the end of the academic year.
In a September interview with campus media, University President John DeGioia set a similar deadline.
“We’ll be getting [the project] done this year—that was an important check for us,” he said.
While the new wireless network will be capable of supporting a higher concentration of users within a smaller area, Bergsmark explained that the older networks can still operate effectively.
“[They] have the capacity to support the residents,” Bergsmark said.
Wireless access has been generally well received in Copley Hall, where services were activated on Mar. 11.
“It’s working really well,” Carolina Caballero (COL ’13), a Copley resident, said.
Other students agreed with Caballero’s claim that the wireless works well, although ethernet cable-based access remains a better choice for high-bandwidth activities, such as streaming video.
However, some are concerned about the expansion of wireless capabilities into an academic environment. Nate Olson, a PhD candidate currently teaching a Philosophy class in the Walsh building, worries that the availability of wireless Internet may hurt classroom discussions.
“It could be more of a distraction than a benefit,” he said.
