Trapeze Network announced Monday its plans to install a new campus-wide wireless network at the University of Minnesota, putting the university one step ahead of UW-Madison in wireless coverage.
About 9,500 access points will be deployed throughout the Twin Cities campus by May 2008, providing students and faculty with complete wireless internet coverage.
While this is not the first campus-wide wireless network for U of M, it is a faster and more consistent type of network.
A lot of people are working all the time to make technology better,"" Brian Johnson of Trapeze Communications said. ""This [network] is the next generation of wireless networking that runs faster than anything out there today.""
Brian Rust, senior administration program specialist at UW-Madison's Division of Information Technology, said currently 97 percent of UW-Madison has wireless coverage.
All of UW-Madison's indoor facilities - classrooms, offices, unions and libraries - have wireless coverage, while Madison's wireless service Mad City Broadband covers most outdoor areas on and around campus.
University Housing did not have wireless access until 2005 when it began a three-phase process to install wireless Internet in its buildings.
The third phase was completed in summer 2007 when access points were installed in all common rooms and study spaces, as well as surrounding outdoor areas near Lakeshore residence halls and Smith Hall.
According to Director of Housing Information Technology Sathish Gopalrao, students now receive over 80 percent coverage in all University Housing residence halls.
Ohio State University completed installing its campus-wide wireless coverage on Jan. 31, 2008. The university deployed Wimax - the same wireless network Mad City Broadband uses - throughout all campus residence halls, libraries and departments.
Jeff Gondek, system specialist for OSU Office of Information Technology, said Wimax covers a larger area than the future U of M network, which provides a higher bandwidth and provides more consistent coverage.
Although Wimax does not cover every spot on campus, ""technologically, trying to aim for one-hundred percent coverage is really hard and expensive,"" Gondek said.
U of M considered 23 companies to install a campus-wide network after noticing how students and departments were creating individual wireless networks, many of which provided poor service.
Johnson said he thought Trapeze was chosen because the company provides a secure, fast and consistent network.
""We offer a very easy way to manage wireless networks,"" Johnson said. ""The point is we aren't connecting buildings, we're connecting people.""
