Wireless technologies have made the University one of the most connected and cutting-edge institutions in the country, ushering in a new era of freedom for tech-savvy students.
The University has been very successful in setting up a wireless system compared to other institutions, said Network Services Director Dale Smith.
“We’re ahead of most universities, I’d say we’re in the top 10 percent,” Smith said. “Some are ahead of us — those are schools that have spent millions of dollars to set them up. My goal for the future is to put access wherever students hang out.”
In 1999, when the wireless network was first set up in the EMU, the University had about 20 wireless users, Smith said. He added that at the time wireless cards were not a standard feature on laptops, and the price of after-market wireless cards was more expensive.
“It has only been recently that people have been buying computers with wireless built-in,” he said. “Now you run down to the bookstore or wherever and a wireless card will cost you $40.”
The network was updated in 2002 to a Wi-Fi system, making wireless Internet connections available in almost every building on campus and most public spaces. Network Services calculated in January that about 2,500 individual users had logged into the wireless network.
“I just like to be able to pick where I work,” said computer science graduate student Eric Purpose while using a wireless connection in the EMU to search the Internet. “I can grab a coffee and be out in public and I don’t have to sit in my office all day to use the computer and work.”
Wi-Fi networks, a common type of wireless connection, use access points — or “hotspots” — with a transmitter and receiver that broadcast a radio signal. The signal is picked up with a wireless card installed in a portable device, such as a laptop. Once the laptop establishes a connection to the server, usually with a password, the computer connects to the Internet.
Smith encouraged anyone to submit ideas of places that need wireless access. Future plans include boosting service in the University Bookstore and potentially adding service in the restaurants on East 13th Avenue.
Additionally, community businesses such as Cafe Paradiso, Indigo District and Cozmic Pizza have started to offer wireless service as an incentive to woo laptop-bound scholars, and Starbucks offers a wireless service plan available at most stores. For students, the wireless boom has meant the ability to do work and research anywhere they can find a hotspot.
Steve Massie, who works for Disability Services at the University, has been using wireless connections for three months and said he often uses the hotspot at Indigo District.
“It makes it a lot easier to keep in touch with my boss,” Massie said. “I can check my e-mail anywhere and do anything I would normally do on the Internet.”
Although Wi-Fi uses mathematical programs to encrypt information sent wirelessly, Network Services Senior Security Engineer John Kemp said privacy issues still exist.
“With the Internet in general there’s a lot of scanning and probing,” Kemp said. “We expect people to be cautious.”
Kemp said that while there are problems with people intercepting wireless data, these instances pale in comparison to the security breaches that come in over the Internet from more remote sources. Users worried about the content of their Web-based e-mail being intercepted over the local wireless network should use a
secure connection, he said.
University mail servers offer a secure connection and users of MSN or Hotmail can ensure better security by typing https:// before a URL instead of the standard http://.
Wireless routers and AirPorts also allow homeowners to set up small networks that blanket a home or apartment with wireless coverage, an advantage that lets users avoid ethernet cables.
Purpose said he first purchased a laptop with wireless capability in 2000 to take advantage of the freedom a home wireless network provides. The wireless connection gave him the ability to work on his laptop throughout his house without dragging cords behind him.
Smith said the popularity of wireless technology is an example of critical mass — a moment when a certain technology ceases to be a gadget and become a necessity.
“It’s just like cell phones really,” Smith said. “People see someone with wireless and they ask questions, ‘You can get the Internet on this?’ or ‘You don’t need a cable?’ and it gets them interested.”