If you want to carry around your laptop and stay connected to the internet from Detchon to the football field to any of the fraternities and everywhere in between, that will all be possible soon.
Brad Weaver, Director of IT Services at Wabash, has set into motion a plan bringing the entirety of the Wabash campus under one large wireless network. This plan includes all academic and administrative buildings, fraternities, dormitories, and small houses. Many outdoor spaces will be covered as well, including the campus mall and varsity athletics fields.
"I'm excited about the wireless expansion project, and the possibilities it offers to Wabash students," Weaver said. "Students will be able to access on-campus and Internet-based information resources anywhere, anytime, with greater speed and ease than currently possible. I've personally seen the benefit of wireless networking in my own home, and am thrilled to be able to bring that same level of access to the Wabash campus."
The project proposal states the wireless network will include other upgrades to enhance performance. These upgrades include increasing the power of the network to handle high density areas where many people will log onto the network from one place or the increase bandwidth from the current 11Mbps to 54 Mbps. This will help to improve the users’ ability to access streaming video or voice communication.
The reason for the upgrade in wireless technology comes down to information gathered by the Tech Survey offered in the fall. The survey reported that Wabash students selected "Expand wireless network access to dorms and fraternities" as the most important of twelve potential technology initiatives. Wabash faculty concurred and placed it second, just behind "Upgrade and standardize classroom projection systems."
In addition to the campus speaking its voice on the matter, the number of laptops on campus has increased to greater numbers than ever. According to the survey, "71% of student-owned computers are now laptops. The percentage of laptops should exceed 75% by fall 2007, as laptop ownership is considerably higher than average for the freshman (77.8%) and sophomore (77.6%) classes. Given the laptop penetration, the timing is right for campus-wide wireless access."
When considering what would be best for Wabash, it is easy to see the future of technology coming in smaller sizes and more based on Wi-Fi equipment.
"As devices continue to shrink in size and the world becomes increasingly mobile, ubiquitous high-speed wireless access positions us well to take advantage of emerging technologies in the next 2-5 years, and continue Wabash's tradition of providing our students state of the art resources."
The Wabash Tech Survey will continue to give an idea of how the College is changing with the technology and it will do its best to stay up to date. Wabash’s wireless project is scheduled to be completed just in time for the 2007-2008 school year.