All colleges and universities are being challenged with providing fast, reliable and secure bandwidth tot the students and faculty. However, failure is not an option as accessibility is the cornerstone of the future of blended learning.
Challenges are common across all wireless technologies, according to Justin Clausen, Physical Plant Analyst at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB). “We just have to find a way to make those technologies fit together easily.”
Clausen addressed a virtual audience at a session, “The Benefits, Limitations and use Cases of Private Wireless Networks”, part of Fierce Education’s recent "Connected Campus" virtual event. Clausen was joined by Aimee Rullo, Business Development Manager, State and Local Government and Education, Nokia. View this session and other conference content on demand here.
CSUMB extends across 1350 acres and once functioned as an Army base. The campus has roughly 100 buildings, many are recycled Army buildings, made of cinder block and rebar and concrete and there’s varied elevations throughout the campus, affecting wireless propagation throughout campus.
The school uses three wireless technologies across its campus, including WiFi, point-to-point WiFi and commercial cellular carriers.
WiFi deployment is primarily inside of buildings and in some parking lots. WiFi usage is currently limited to end-user devices, bot campus-provided and BYOD and is ubiquitous in nature like the connectivity we experience in our daily life. CSUMB has more than 1500 access points across buildings.
CSUMB also uses point to point WiFi in buildings that are far from other buildings. The school has underground infrastructure to serve these buildings including fiber or other wired technologies, and then connect to them using point to point. This covers temporary uses, including contractors that need to set up trailers for construction offices, for instance. Most are small installations, supporting fewer than six users.
Cellular carriers. Three large cellular carriers have a presence on campus, one with two towers on either side of campus. All three are actively upgrading to 5G. “Carriers experience many of the same challenges across campus as WiFi for consistent cellular coverage levels,” Clausen explained. “There are a good number of black holes on campus when it comes to cellular coverage and particularly within buildings and building cores.”
The solution, Clausen pointed out, is to use cellular boosters. “For boosters, knowing your integrator, and having a relationship and selecting the right integrator is important,” he said. “The system we chose has been very useful and successful, but we had challenges with our integrator and their willingness to troubleshoot and fine-tune the system was a challenge. When you are selecting your integrator and your product, really understand what your integrator is offering and willing to do Knowing and having a long-term relationship with your integrator is important. Technology can be installed but if you want it built well, having the integrator available and willing to teach and learn along with you is an important aspect to having a system like this developed.”
CSUMB is currently investigating the use of private Long-Term Evolution, or LTE. In a residential area of the campus, used both for staff and student housing, the school is looking for the potential of LTE to serve the region, especially for security cameras in public areas that have no dedicated connectivity like dog parks and playgrounds.
“We provide data and TV in this area with a hybrid fiber coax cable modem system, so we’re working with a local contractor to look at private LTE,” Clausen said. “A tool we’re considering the TIA and UL Spire program, geared toward smart buildings, but in this application, we’re looking at it as a way to see what’s possible in a private LTE application.” The campus has very little smart building or Internet of Things implementations.
Nokia’s Rullo said she needs vary considerably from one campus to another, along with the differences in settings, school sizes and infrastructure, as well as the programs they offer. “It’s essential to have those tough conversations and figure out what they’re trying to do and not only getting the integrators to talk to each other but also getting the internal stakeholders at the colleges and universities to communicate as well,” Rullo explained.
“At the end of the day, they’re all trying to improve efficiencies, improve student retention, garner student interest and making sure they’re teaching and learning in a collaborative way. Just making sure you understand their needs and putting together a good technology plan and that everything is working together cohesively is critical,” said.
For more articles from the Connected Campus event, see:
Colleges and Universities Push the Frontier of Connectivity