September 29, 2005
WIFI access to be campuswide in 3 years
The UW’s Seattle campus will have access to wireless connections within three years, under the UW Wireless Initiative, a plan developed through discussion among campus technology advisory committees and the Board of Deans.
The plan to deploy wireless connectivity through the Seattle campus is being overseen by the Academic Technology Advisory Committee (A-TAC). David Thorud. then acting provost, announced the plan in an April 4 memo to campus deans, vice provosts and vice presidents, and followed with a positive progress report in mid-July.
“In the view of many faculty, students and staff on campus, wireless networking connectivity has rapidly moved from a luxury to a necessity,” Thorud wrote in April. “Representatives of all these groups have indicated that providing wireless connectivity throughout the University of Washington should be a priority.”
Deployment will cost $7.5 million over three years in initial capital costs. Ongoing maintenance and equipment replacement will be paid for by a $2.40 a month increase in the basic communications/telephone rate. This total will come from an 80-cent increase in each of 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Site selection and deployment for the initiative are being overseen by the Academic Technology Advisory Committee (A-TAC). That committee, in turn, is being assisted by two advisory groups: the Wireless Advisory Group, which recommends wireless implementation strategies, and the Wireless Working Group, which is responsible for detailed site and schedule analysis. The Department of Computing & Communications is responsible for implementing the plan, for ongoing maintenance and operations, and for incorporating existing local wireless networks into the new, centrally managed infrastructure, or replacing them.
A-TAC determined priorities for deployment after discussion among faculty, students and staff about the most pressing needs for wireless. Under the plan, wireless will be deployed at the UW Seattle main campus and Health Sciences complex. Not covered by the Wireless Initiative are residence halls, off-campus sites and the UW Medical Center, which has its own plan under way. The Wireless Initiative also includes funding for ongoing maintenance, operations and support of wireless at the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses.
Wireless has already been deployed as part of the initiative at the HUB lawn, engineering and chemistry library buildings and in portions of the health sciences T-wing. Many more sites across campus will receive wireless during this first year, including Red Square, The Quad and Kane Hall.
The Wireless Initiative came from discussions that took place among members of the Board of Deans, the University Technology Advisory Committee, the Academic Technology Advisory Committee and other UW and technology and budget advisory groups.
The deployment of wireless technology has already taken place for areas such as the T wing of the Health Sciences Building for the School of Medicine, the chemistry and engineering library buildings and the HUB lawn.
The UW Tacoma already has wireless in several buildings and will soon extend it throughout the campus, and the UW Bothell has wireless connectivity in classroom and library buildings.
Colleen Butler, a technical project manager for C&C, said of the wireless deployment, “The UWI team is pleased to bring a technology to the University community that should greatly enhance the professional and instructional experience of UW students, faculty and staff.”
On the Web: Learn more about the UW Wireless Initiative at http://www.washington.edu/computing/wireless/initiative.html.
