{"id":703,"date":"2014-03-16T13:25:41","date_gmt":"2014-03-16T13:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/wireless-network\/?p=703"},"modified":"2016-10-11T16:30:27","modified_gmt":"2016-10-11T20:30:27","slug":"increased-strain-on-higher-ed-campus-wireless-networks-is-802-11ac-the-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/wireless-network\/increased-strain-on-higher-ed-campus-wireless-networks-is-802-11ac-the-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Increased Strain on Higher Ed Campus Wireless Networks – Is 802.11ac the Answer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mobile<\/a>Information-technology departments at college campuses nationwide have struggled to maintain and upgrade their wireless-network capacities.\u00a0 With the substantial increase of wireless device ownership particularly for traditional college-age students, chief information officers at colleges and universities have grappled with how to increase wireless capacity.\u00a0 Bruce Maas, the CIO at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, estimates there are 100,000 mobile devices being carried by students at the university.<\/p>\n

Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) has created a unique environment at institutions of higher education.\u00a0 At a number of college campuses, student and faculty usage of personal, internet-capable wireless devices has strained campus networks.\u00a0 Network capacity is even more strained in large lecture halls and athletic venues.\u00a0 \u201cAn increase in the number of devices is only part of the problem.\u00a0 As the devices get more advanced, they eat up more bandwidth.\u00a0 The original iPhone, for example, wasn\u2019t capable of sending picture messages,\u201d wrote Carl Straumsheim, in a September 5, 2013 Inside Higher Ed <\/i>article.\u00a0 On campuses that host well attended football games, wireless networks are heavily used because of the increased amount of people on campus trying to access the network with their smartphones, tablets, or laptops.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proliferation of personal, Internet-capable devices on college campuses also adds a new wrinkle to already complex information-security concerns,\u201d wrote Megan O\u2019Neil in an October 14, 2013 article about the increased usage of wireless devices on college campuses.\u00a0 O\u2019Neil\u2019s article appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education.<\/i><\/p>\n

The increased usage and accessibility of wireless devices on college campuses is part of a wider trend regarding mobile device ownership.\u00a0 As of May 2013, 56 percent of American adults owned a smartphone, according to research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project.\u00a0 Earlier this year, Educause \u2013 an education-technology organization, conducted a mobile device survey among undergraduate students.\u00a0 The survey indicated that 76 percent of undergraduates said they owned a smartphone.\u00a0 58 percent of undergraduates said they owned at least three Internet-capable devices.<\/p>\n

Privacy Challenges<\/b><\/p>\n

As centers for the creation and dissemination of knowledge, academic institutions have an obligation to be collaborative and transparent.\u00a0 However, there are security risks to transparency.\u00a0 Moving forward, how will institutions of higher education find the right balance between allowing efficient and safe wireless-network access and protecting user information?<\/p>\n

If networks are not properly secured data can be lost or stolen.\u00a0 Bank-account information, user names and passwords, and other personal data of students and faculty can be comprised if networks are not adequately protected.\u00a0 This is a growing challenge for campus IT departments.<\/p>\n

Click here to read the full piece<\/a> and for more on how University and College campuses are handling increased strain on their wireless networks.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t

\"wireless<\/a>For information on the top 802.11ac solutions,\u00a0check out our latest Buyer’s Guide:<\/strong><\/h4>\n