American universities planning WiFi upgrades to retain tech edge

The latest WiFi technology, 802.11ac Wave 2, is about to launch in America, and some educational campuses are planning infrastructure changes to make use of the faster, more powerful connectivity. Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts is a prime example; moving to Wave 2 to meet the expectations of students and maintain its reputation of a leading-edge service when it comes to technology. Sean O'Connor, assistant CIO states: “"We're upgrading to support the mission of our school. Since we are a technical-based university, our students, faculty and staff expect this type of leading-edge service. This generation of students expects mobile connectivity everywhere…”

Networking & Wireless

Ramping Up for the 2016 Mobile Explosion With Wave 1 and Wave 2

How two colleges are preparing for this year's mobile demands.

This month, hundreds of thousands of students are returning to campus loaded down with the latest in laptops, tablets, smartphones, smart watches, print devices and video game systems. Most of the devices are mobile – and students expect the campus network to support all of their devices. Will they be delighted — or frustrated — when everything is hooked up and ready to go?

Lorraine Abraham, CIO and library director of Emory and Henry College (VA), is not taking any chances. "We're replacing the entire network infrastructure," she said, noting that E&H will be fully prepared by installing the latest WiFi technology: 802.11ac Wave 2. "When you only upgrade every eight years," she asserted, "you have to get the latest and greatest." E&H decided to start now by installing the technology of the future – some of which will not come into play for about a year. With a campus that's small (1,100 students) and remote ("Our neighbors are cows") in the beautiful Appalachian Highlands, E&H has to work harder to accommodate its students – 85 percent of whom live on campus.

Sean O'Connor, assistant CIO for Worcester Polytechnic Institute (MA), is also opting for Wave 2, but for different reasons. "We want to be more agile for students and faculty," O'Conner said. "We're upgrading to support the mission of our school. Since we are a technical-based university, our students, faculty and staff expect this type of leading-edge service. This generation of students [about 4,200 undergrad and 1,900 grad students] expects mobile connectivity everywhere. They want the ‘Wow' factor, and we want to have them excited about what we're doing." He added, "It's what you can do with mobile devices that makes the difference."

802.11ac is well on its way to becoming the standard for next-generation WiFi. The gigabit speed, improved capacity and reliability that 802.11ac brings to wireless LANs (WLANs) are essential as mobile users, devices and application usage continue to grow rapidly. Going forward, both Abraham and O'Connor agree that 802.11ac is the most relevant wireless out there. Whether it's Wave 1 (now up and running), Wave 2 (just coming over the horizon) or a combination of the two, it's critical that the infrastructure catch up with the proliferation of devices. "Technology is a support mechanism," O'Connor noted. "With the new technology in place, we can give both students and faculty a better product."

Wave 1 vs. Wave 2

In terms of deciding between Wave 1 and Wave 2, "the solution is timing," according to Christian Gilby, director of product marketing for enterprise networking provider Aruba. "The Wave 2 certification program isn't available yet from the WiFi Alliance. I expect Aruba to start the certification of access points (APs) in early 2016, but it will be six months until there are a good number of Wave 2 clients from smartphone, tablet and laptop manufacturers." He suggested that schools invest their dollars in Wave 2 APs today: "This way, you can get all the benefits of Wave 1 now and be ready to take advantage of Wave 2 when clients become available."

"Our students have never lived in a world without broadband," said Abraham. "They see it as a utility rather than as a luxury. When students complained about access, we went to a gig — which was overwhelming to our network. Even though it was faster, it slowed down our outmoded network. As of the end of the calendar year, we're going to 2 gigs."

"We started the process about a year-and-a-half ago," commented O'Connor. "Our users were wanting more and more connectivity. Mobility was becoming bigger, and we wanted to be more agile for both students and faculty. We doubled our structure, going from 700 APs to 1,450." The upgrade includes all residence halls, classrooms, academic buildings and Greek houses on the network. O'Connor noted that the old network had problems supporting students in classes. "Most students have two to three devices on them," he said. "It was not a good experience in the classroom. Now, after about a year mapping out the infrastructure, the bandwidth and the mobility are there for them." He added that his institution plans to use Wave 2 in classrooms, student gathering places (such as the rec center and student center) and in places that host major events, such as Career Fair.