With nearly a third of the campus covered, New Mexico State University is well on its way to implementing a campus-wide wireless network, a goal that will be reached within four years if all goes according to plan.  Of course, in order to have a good wireless network, NMSU had to first establish a good, wired network under it.

With little to no attention paid, NMSU began to build its wired network in the early 1990s, and has been expanding it ever since, moving into the planning phase for wireless two to three years ago.  As it stands now, NMSU’s main campus has around 250 wireless access points, which are located at areas in and around campus where students tend to congregate most frequently, along with other locales where specific departmental requests have been made.

 “What was once a geek toy is now a viable network,” said Norma Grijalva, director of telecommunications and networking services at NMSU, referring to the fact that students and faculty did not make much use of NMSU’s networking efforts in the beginning.  “The browser was introduced around 1993 and brought about a lot more use of the web.”

Since wireless networking is not centrally funded at NMSU, the movement toward a fully wireless campus slowly marches on as financial support allows.  One of the primary sources of funding is the student technology fee, which is a $20 fee per semester for each full time student.  Along with wireless connectivity, the technology fee covers other uses such as computer lab use, laser printing and email accounts.  The total amount collected this year for the wireless effort is around $30,000 – down from $40,000 last year.

As for particular requests, departments that encompass entire buildings and provide their own technology funding, such as the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, are going to be the types of places where complete coverage is popping up.  Another department that has been aggressive in going wireless is the New Mexico State Police Department, so that its officers will have expanded abilities, including the option to access records from wherever they may be on campus.

Other buildings that house multiple departments, such as Milton Hall, can provide a problem for installation, for the simple fact that it is difficult to get a consensus from the various departments on the necessity and funding of wireless access.  Once a building has gone wireless, any student with a laptop can gain access at anytime, even during class, and that is a notion that may not sit well with some professors, according to Dan Bosch, network engineer with telecommunication and networking services.

As NMSU moves toward full implementation, other unforeseen factors can inhibit the transition to wireless.  Different buildings provide different problems.  “There are thick walls in Hadley Hall, the metal lockers in Gardiner cause a problem, and Gerald Thomas has a lot of structural interference,” Bosch said.

Metal in general leads to difficulties; even elevator shafts and even chicken wire are an issue, Grijalva said.  Another thing people may not realize is they themselves can attenuate a wireless signal.  To a wireless network, “A person looks like a six-foot column of water,” Grijalva said.

With so many factors, the price for installation can vary.  When Corbett Center received the wireless treatment, the cost was about $13,000 for 13 access points along with other underlying infrastructure improvements.  As new or refurbished buildings are completed, it is likely that they will contain wireless overlays, and that can cut down on some costs, as was the case with Memorial Tower which houses the College of Health & Social Services.

One important thing to remember when dealing with a wireless network, experts say, is that they are no match for the speed or security of a wired infrastructure.  As such, Grijalva and Bosch said they do not recommend the transfer of large files over a wireless connection.  They also urge anyone who is considering doing something which they would prefer remain secure, like making a credit card purchase, download what is called VPN software, which creates a “virtual private network,” in order to ensure a secure encrypted connection to the campus network.  The software is a free download to NMSU computer users.

The goal at NMSU is a scenario in which all students and faculty can sit just about anywhere with their laptop and jump on the network. 

“We’ve made a lot of progress, and we’ll be there hopefully by another four years,” Grijalva said.

Directory of wireless locations: http://ict.nmsu.edu/wireless/locations.html