Wireless at Last:
Service in place in Library, Commons, and other sites

After months of waiting, the promise of wireless internet service in the Graduate Center is now a reality. Launched in July, the GC’s wireless network now provides coverage in several main student areas throughout the building, and deployment of additional wireless transmitters will be ongoing throughout the fall semester.

The first phase of wireless service is now operational throughout all three floors of the Mina Rees Library, the Dining Commons on the eighth floor, the Skylight Room on the ninth floor, the C-level conference room, the 365 Café lounge, the art gallery, the Beasley Powell Elebash Recital Hall, the Martin E. Segal Theater, and the first floor entryway. The GC’s wireless network is an open network, meaning that there is no password required. Anyone who enters the GC building may log onto the wireless network. Matt Liston, Director of Enterprise, Networks, and Systems for Information Technology, said that this was to facilitate use not only by students and members of the GC community, but also for guests who may frequent events held at the GC. “Our philosophy,” said Liston, “was that we didn’t want to deal with passwords because of problems that could crop up, depending upon which devices people use. This [the unsecured system] gives us freedom and flexibility.” Users should note that with this system, if they are using the GC wi-fi connection, they will have access to their GC drives only if they connect via VPN or Citrix. “You will have to treat it as if you were logging in from home or off-campus,” said Liston.

The GC wireless internet service was funded by a combination of the student technology fee and the GC’s own operational funds. As of the start of the fall semester, the Information Technology department has roughly 50 wireless access points left which it will begin to deploy over the next several months. Areas that are slated to receive these access points during this second phase of wi-fi rollout are (in no particular order) the Science Center (room 4102), the President’s Conference Rooms (rooms 8201.01 and 8201.06), the meeting rooms on the ninth floor (rooms 9204, 9205, 9206, and 9207), the Doctoral Students Council and other student office areas on the fifth floor, the computer classroom in room 6418, and the PhD program suites. There are 27 PhD program areas which will be receiving a wireless internet access point: Anthropology, Art History, Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry, Classics, Clinical Doctoral Programs (audiology, nursing science, physical therapy, public health), Comparative Literature, Computer Science, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Economics, Educational Psychology, English, French, Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages, History, Linguistics, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Theater, and Urban Education.

When asked why it would take an entire semester to deploy the last 50 access points, Robert Campbell, Assistant Vice President for Information Technology, cited the lack of staff. “We could have everything set up within the space of one month,” he said, “if we had dedicated staff members to do so.” Pointing to the vacant positions within his department (11 full-time and seven part-time), Campbell indicated that the lack of staff was affecting IT’s ability to deploy wireless coverage, among other things, in a more timely manner.

In order to get the first phase of wireless internet access points deployed in time, IT had to use outside contractors “where we had to when we didn’t have the expertise,” said Matt Liston. One other reason for the delay in installing the remaining access points is the nature of setting up the system. IT has to obtain approval for each location – especially within each program department – and then measure and install the access points.

Part of the wireless internet program being implemented this year is the option of internet printing, which would allow those utilizing the wireless system to print directly from their electronic devices. The software for this feature has been tested by IT, and over the course of the fall semester will be rolled out so that the ability to print from the wireless internet network will be in place by the start of Spring 2008. Again, the speed of installment will be affected by the understaffing of the IT department.

Enough of the announcements. How well does the GC wi-fi work? As tested by the GC Advocate staff throughout the summer, it works fairly seamlessly in the main student areas. The access points in the library are strong enough that a roaming laptop user can maintain internet connectivity throughout the second floor in moving from the windows further in towards the center of the building amongst the stacks. Coverage in the C-level computer area of the library was also strong in all locations, as was a test of the library’s first floor. It is also possible for multi-taskers to eat lunch in the Dining Commons or break for coffee in the 365 Café while emailing or surfing the ‘net.

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