Officials look to broaden campus wireless coverage

Wireless coverage at UCLA has expanded rapidly over the past three years and is now a large part of student life.

Sherlyn Mossahebfar said wireless is integral for her studies and personal entertainment.

“If I need to look something up in class during a discussion or in the library writing a paper, I’m always on the wireless network,” she said.

As the Undergraduate Students Association Council Facilities commissioner, Mossahebfar has been working with campus officials to extend wireless coverage on campus.

“It’s important for UCLA to be technologically on par with other universities, and I’ve heard from students who want blanket coverage from the residence halls to the university apartments,” she said.

Jim Davis, the associate vice chancellor for information technology, said the administration has been looking at expanding wireless closely for the past three years.

“We realize wireless is taking off and becoming very important, so we are taking a hot-spot approach to fill any remaining open spaces,” Davis said.

Davis added that UCLA consults with individual academic departments on offering wireless because the departments supervise their respective areas.

He said the campus is working closely with individual academic departments to ensure wireless availability if they do not already offer it.

Michael Schilling, the executive director of communications technology services, said the campus is currently finishing up adding wireless to portions of the Young Research Library and the Biomedical Library.

Parts of Bruin Walk near Ackerman Union, the Bruin Bear and LuValle Commons were given wireless access last summer, Schilling said.

He added that on-campus housing and some houses on Hilgard Avenue coordinate their own wireless and follow guidelines that differ from those of other areas around the UCLA campus. Approximately 500 on-campus residents make use of wireless every day, he said.

Mossahebfar said she wants the entire university covered by wireless but added that the plan could be expensive.

Davis said the cost for wireless is paid for by academic departments and by a technology information fee that does not directly affect students.

The future plans for wireless access are not definite, as technology changes and grows rapidly, he said.

Schilling said the UCLA plan states that all newly constructed buildings will offer wireless, regardless of their campus or department.

Other possible developments include a new library checkout system and a wireless equipment monitor.

Davis said a wireless system to check out books in a library would save time and resources, while a wireless tracking system for facilities and medical equipment could improve efficiency.

Despite the benefits of wireless access, Davis said some professors have raised concerns about the use of wireless in their classrooms because some students are browsing Internet content not related to the class.

But he added that wireless is an innovation that is here to stay, and the campus will look at ways to encourage appropriate usage.

Schilling said one common concern about wireless access is individuals who set up their own networks.

He urged students and faculty who create their own networks to follow the standards of the UCLA Wireless Board in order to prevent security breaches.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *