Opinion: Student elections and the myth of Wi-Fi

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I hate to be the pessimist that is the thorn in everyone’s side, but when it comes to this I can’t help but speak out. This topic is widely discussed and candidates have been using this as leverage to get more votes.

Are you ready? I’m talking about Wi-Fi. The idea that they are “working with OIT to find dead zones and fix them.” I often hear this and can’t believe how misinformed people are.

Wi-Fi access is a common complaint. I understand that. As a network technician at OIT I often hear this complaint when out on a project. Quite frankly I was irked a little too when I began classes in the dungeon of the JFSB. Sometimes I needed to study down there or access a file on LearningSuite during a class. I never spoke out about it. Why, you may ask? Because I’ve personally worked on the recent Wi-Fi projects in the Tanner Building, New Heritage Halls, JKB, JSB, JFSB, and the current Clyde and SWKT projects. It’s not as simple as you think.

People say “I’ll suggest a building to OIT for Wi-Fi.” I can only shake my head or “facepalm.” The first misconception is that OIT “chooses” a building to put Wi-Fi in. The second is how fast we could do it. The third is that it is cheap. I want to clarify on these. But do know that I have not been given permission nor hold authority to speak on the behalf of OIT. There may be something that is incorrect but I will answer to the best of my knowledge.

OIT doesn’t “pick and choose.” We actually have no authority to walk into a building and just put wireless access devices–which are not routers as people believe them to be–in any and every room. The college(s) of the building are in charge of overseeing that. When the colleges/departments that oversee the building want to install wireless access they request to discuss this with OIT. They tell us what floors they want to provide access on, which rooms are of priority and other upgrades to accommodate this. OIT then looks into floor plans, optimal positioning of wireless devices, which devices to use, what network management devices need to be changed out, how to make it cost-effective, which equipment closet the wireless devices will have their cabling pulled to and which closets need to be upgraded to accommodate the possibility of more wired connections. After taking a look and getting a draft they’ll estimate the costs and send it back to the college. From there they glance at the price and they consult the group that manages their finances. If they get the green light they’ll establish a contract with OIT and it’s added to the list of major projects.

When we have a list of major projects we prioritize them by using when the contract was established and when it would be best to execute it. For example, over the summer we worked on the Tanner building and the JKB. We had finished the Tanner building and pushed a little more towards finishing the JKB, but the New Heritage Halls were completed and they became an emergency because students were moving in earlier than we were told (mostly due to EFY). We had to finish the Wi-Fi there before they arrived. So we had to put the JKB on hold and rush to finish the New Heritage buildings. Luckily, since they were new, we were able to finish it on time, but at the cost of assigning nearly all technicians (16 or more) to work on it for a week and a half. This meant smaller projects, like wired connection installation for customer desk spaces and repairs, had to be put on hold as well. Such a procedure put another time crunch to complete projects that we lost precious time on. We aren’t meant to do things this way. Everything has a deadline and is organized as such. Just because three students want the Clyde building done doesn’t mean we can, nor will, drop everything to rush it.

Some students think that they can put in Wi-Fi for cheap in the classrooms and buildings they frequent in for studies and classes. Let me tell you, these devices aren’t cheap. It’s not a router we can buy at the local Wal-mart and just “plug in.” Wireless access points, which are commonly refer to as APs or Arrays by us due to vendors naming them, are special order. They can handle a higher density of devices than your $120 router can. Some handle 60 with less than four antennae, some handle a few hundred with over eight antennae. The lowest of the spectrum is nearly equivalent to a student’s tuition cost for a semester without a vendor discount, the larger surpasses the cost of two semesters. These devices then need a power supply that is hosted in an equipment room. If the room hasn’t been upgraded to “next gen” or complete gigabit-capable connectivity we have to do a single power injector, which is $90. But if it’s upgraded we put in a “midspan” that can handle up to 8 wireless access points. That device is $900 without a discount, so the JFSB had to have at least thirteen of these. It adds up quickly. But how will these access the network? A “switch” is used to allow access to the main network. If it’s a floor with a high density of connections expect three to seven of these or a “chassis” to handle this. Each switch, depending on the model, can be anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000. But the chassis? Expect a minimum of $15,000. Single-mode fiber strands are needed? If you need only fiber connections and they absolutely have to be at maximum bandwidth speed, the high-end device can be, oh say…$100,000.

For the above, take a guess at the cost of the JFSB. 96 wireless access points of varying size, eight chassis with one per equipment closet, thirteen or more midspans, a few miles of cables (two cables per new wired connection, maybe 80 of the 96 needed this) where each new pull could be 80 to 300 feet at $0.60/ft, new cross-connect wiring that connects individual wired lines to the switches for every existing connection (six spools of 1000ft at $500/ea), and the hours of labor put into this. Conservatively this is a few hundred thousand dollars. But when does a contract ever cost a conservative amount? With the way financing works at BYU we’re talking about sacred tithing money being used to do all this. We try to make it cost-effective but it still costs more than what your future or current mortgage would.

So please understand that someone cannot “give OIT a list of spots to put wifi in.” We know the dead zones, trust me. If you want to get wifi somewhere then you need to talk to the dean of your college or the head of your department. They have to discuss it with their administration before turning to OIT.

I know this isn’t an answer students want to hear. It seems slow and frustrating. But I don’t want these candidates to misinform people. Advocate all you want, nothing will change if you just pester OIT. Get students together, create a draft of what you want done, the benefits of it and what the standing issue is at that building. Talking to the professors can help! Let the college know by sending it to the dean or others that oversee maintenance and changes to the building. Get involved and get it done right. If the college is aware of what students want then they’re more likely to start the process.

Kent Coble
OIT Student Employee

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