Dorm Wireless Project Finishes Ahead of Schedule

From dorms to dining halls, PEA is now officially wireless. In December, Information Technology Services (ITS) completed its project of total access to wireless Internet both ahead of schedule and under budget.Over the past three years, Exeter’s dorm Internet service has transitioned from Ethernet cables with an 11pm to 6am cutoff to 24-hour Ethernet access to the current system of 24 hour, campus-wide wireless Internet.The project for 24/7 Wi-Fi, originally called “the late night Internet plan,” was initially proposed in the February of 2012 under then StuCo president Calvin Willett ‘12.Within four months, the proposition flew through the necessary implementation measures. Both members of StuCo—with 41 in favor, eight against, with three abstentions—and dorm heads voted overwhelmingly for round-the-clock access in February, 2012. Later that school year, faculty also voted in favor. The proposal came into effect in the fall at the beginning of the current academic year.Although the 24/7 Internet plan turned out better than the previously limited access, the administration decided to continue improving Internet on campus by providing Wi-Fi to every dorm in the spring of 2013, after students were facing issues with the accessibility and practicality of Ethernet cables in their rooms.Director of Information Technology Services (ITS) Diane Fandrich, oversaw the project that was accomplished four months early. “The wireless implementation was most definitely a success,” Fandrich said. “Our plans had called for the implementation to be completed during spring break '14 with the final girls' dorm, Merrill. However, we worked with the deans and the faculty in Merrill to revise our plans and we completed the installation in December.”Fandrich attributed the triumph to an overall common ambition. She spoke of the IT department’s collaborative nature and swift adaptations through problems. “All parties involved acknowledged that the project was so successful because everyone had the same goal, was very willing to work through issues as soon as they arose and was quick to come to agreements and make decisions,” she said.Many students responded positively to the new installations. “There's a huge difference between my prep year and now,” senior Laura Zawarski said. “Internet was really a burden, and now it’s not so much anymore. I used to have to wait a half an hour tethered to the wall hoping to get into my email before 11 pm. The upgrade has been really great in my opinion.”Zawarski noted that, during her prep year, only one computer could be connected via an Ethernet cable at any given time and constrained to one room. “I do my best work in the early hours of the morning, and I can't imagine being stuck to the constraints I had prep year,” she said.In addition, many students appreciated an Internet network that can support various devices. In past years, Exonians struggled with unreliable connections.Upper Erick Friis valued the new system because it provided him with a greater overall accessibility. “Nowadays, many people have devices that do not have Ethernet ports, such as phones, tablets and ultra-portable laptops. With school-provided Wi-Fi, students no longer need to buy routers if they have Wi-Fi only devices,” Friis added.Though the availability of Internet in dorms has been largely well received, some students have noted significantly lower speeds. “The new dorm Wi-Fi is certainly convenient, but it's still too slow,” upper Wyatt Himmer said. “It can take excessive amounts of time to load anything during study hours, and you have to forget about Facebook or any other social media between 10pm and 11pm—everyone is online during that hour,”Despite the system’s preliminary problems, the overall transition from time-sensitive Internet to a 24-hour universally accessible system was a success.The new setup helped ease the previous disparity between students who owned smartphones, tablets and routers and those who did not. “I only experienced the 11pm Wi-Fi my prep year, but I remember that I didn't have an iPhone and my roommate did,” Movitz said. “While I would be forced to go to bed, she would stay up on her iPhone—working, listening to music and reading.”The impressive and speedy change to Internet availability across campus was an effective upgrade for many. “Now that the Internet is 24/7, I can do my homework assignments in whatever order I choose, whenever I choose," Himmer said.