For many, talking on the phone can become more than just a time to catch up with friends. It can become a physical balancing act just trying to avoid a phone call from being cut off. There are places upstairs and downstairs where cell phone coverage is just not welcomed on campus. Starting July 2007, all the other CSU campuses will implement the Aruba Wireless standard that CSULB has set.
Cal State Long Beach has set the standard for all the other CSU campuses as of last summer when it installed about 300 new wireless access points with the help of Aruba Wireless Technologies. The more wireless access points a campus has, the more it allows one to log on to make or receive phone calls, with the greatest reception and less interference.
According to Aruba, the Mobile Edge Company, mobility, security and convergence are issues many networks are challenged with and attempt to address. Aruba Technology has addressed these issues by supporting both voice and data and has upgraded its systems by using several systems that allow for fluid communication from their physical cable plant to their branch office router.
Director of Network Services Steve La said CSULB is in the process of finalizing the online campus wireless coverage. Students or faculty interested in how this is being done can preview what’s to come by accessing daf.csulb.edu/maps/floorplans/ and clicking on “Wireless Access Zones” in order to see which areas of the university are currently under service.
“We are working very hard to secure the campus data and network infrastructure,” La said. “The wireless security we implemented for this campus is considered amongst the best in the industry. It is as secured as it can be.
“We also support web authentication for all other users using credentials from the MyCSULB account or e-mail account. We require user authentication for all wireless access due to security reason,” he said.
La said as soon as people enter the campus with laptops, a user with a student ID is able to log on and use the service. By only allowing CSULB students and faculty with ID number access, La said this lessens the risk of hacker interference.
But laptop coverage is not as big of an issue as getting cell phone coverage everywhere.
“My cell phone is usually fine except in FA4. Other than that it seems to work fine,” said senior drawing and painting major Tracy Molis.
If students have a request for a particular area in school where a cell phone is cutting in and out, e-mail net-help@csulb.edu or contact the local support technician in the building if there are problems.
Although there are some areas where wireless coverage is a problem, La said that with the newly deployed service of Aruba Wireless, the campus service will continue to improve and hopefully students will no longer have to freeze in odd positions and utter the dreadful words, “Can you hear me now?”
