By Heather Leiphart, Student Reporter
Residents of University Park apartments might find the name “Belkin 54G” familiar – it is a common $30 router, purchasable at Wal-Mart, and for more than 400 students living in UP, the only source of wireless Internet.
ACU’s three-step plan to bring wireless Internet access to every corner of campus does not include the on-campus, upperclassmen apartment complex; and residents are forced to compromise with their own routers.
“Our priorities are: one, residence halls, two, learning spaces and three, green spaces,” said Arthur Brant, director of Networking Services. “UP isn’t on our radar because it is different. Other conversations have to happen before it gets on our list.”
Learning spaces signify classrooms, and green spaces include all frequently populated outdoor areas. After these three priorities, ACU will look to equip outlying offices with wireless Internet access, such as the Moore house across North 16th Street beside University Church, Brant said.
ACU upgraded the wireless connectivity in freshman residence halls last summer and this summer it will enhance sophomore and upper-level residence halls, where iPhone-bearing students will live next year, Brant said.
“When we started talking wireless, there was never a conversation that came up with regards to putting it in over at University Park because it is handled differently than the residence halls,” Brant said. “There’s a lack of coordination between Networking Services and the UP management company to find out how to include wireless in the buildings.”
ACU provides wired Internet, cable TV and telephone services to UP and is responsible for all technology problems, restrictions and upgrades, said Patricia Hail-Jackson, UP director. Even UP staff must look to Team 55 for help with Internet problems, she said.
“With our partnership with the university, they provide the Internet, so we deal with what we get,” Hail-Jackson said. “We can’t do anything with it unless our corporate office and ACU came to some agreement.”
UP looked into getting wireless Internet two years ago, but neither ACU nor the corporate office of UP wanted to take on the substantial expense, Hail-Jackson said. To compromise, UP set up a wireless Internet router in the clubhouse and laundry room.
“To house these kids and keep occupancy, we need to make sure that we’re giving them everything that they want,” she said. “It would be the university’s decision if [wireless] is what they wanted to do. We’re not asking them to do that, but any upgrades that they want to make would be a plus to us.”
Another factor adding to the expense of installing wireless Internet at UP is the rooms were not built to accommodate further modifications, Brant said. Most residence halls have drop-ceilings which easily allow later adaptations, but UP buildings do not. Brant said although the cost is not a detractor, it is something that has to be considered.
At the same time, although not explicitly stated in the student handbook, ACU frowns upon the use of personal routers. The problem is not the myth that routers create strain on the network; problems only occur when users do not correctly follow directions when setting up the router, Brant said. A router that is not set up correctly also transfers problems to other users accessing Internet through a wired connection plugged into a wall port. The only fix to this problem is for Team 55 to try and scout out the ‘rogue router.’ However, these problems disappear once wireless is introduced.
“Once wireless was set up in the residence halls, rogue routers were no longer a problem because routers were no longer needed, but a router that is set up correctly will cause no problems,” Brant said.
Brant said he thinks it will be a matter of time before ACU addresses the issue to the UP management company. ACU needs to find out “who is going to do what and when,” he said.
“We have the technical skill sets to do it, but at the end of the day, somebody needs to write the check for it; and whether that’s ACU or UP management needs to be taken care of,” Brant said. “Obviously we could have been more proactive; obviously the students want it. There’s no question about that. My assumption is that in the end it’s going to be that UP will look to ACU to do it.”
