It takes a full minute to load a simple web page.
It tells you a wireless network is available but there’s no connection.
If you try to play a video game it slows to a snail’s pace. These are just a few of the complaints about Carleton’s wireless internet.
“I was playing Tetris using the wireless network here on campus,” said Jerry Zhao, a first-year public affairs and policy management student. “I had progressed three levels when the Internet connection suddenly gave way. Not only did I lose all the progress I had made earlier, but when I checked my status I found I had actually dropped down a couple more levels than when I began playing.”
For some, figuring out which corners, in which rooms and in which buildings have a strong wireless connection can be a little bit of an art.
“I know that Ollie’s doesn’t have a good connection,” said Christian Robillard, a first-year public affairs and policy management student. “And the Minto Centre rarely connects, even where it says there’s a connection.”
As of late, students have had many complaints about the CU-Internet network, said Mary Kathryn Roberts, a communications advisor with Carleton’s Computing and Communication Services (CCS), which allows users access to basic unsecured Internet access.
“CCS recommends connecting to CU-Wireless as it provides encrypted (secure) access to the campus network,” Roberts said in an email.
Bandwith, location and an individual’s hardware and wireless card are all factors that affect the speed to which the connection is received.
“CCS monitors [the bandwith] closely to ensure limits are not exceeded,” Roberts said.
There are 363 wireless access points on campus, she added. CCS monitors these access points to ensure they’re performing at a 99.9 per cent rate in terms of device availability. In December, availability was 99.98 per cent, Roberts said. But not every location on campus has these access points just yet.
Users also have to face the familiar problems of multiple concurrent users, especially during busy periods in the afternoon, as well as the fact some computers made before July 2011 may be older than the new wireless system.
In December, the total number of user devices on the wireless network was 31,764, which is up 43 per cent from last year, according to Roberts.
“In order to keep up with the increasing demand for wireless on campus, we continue to expand wireless coverage on campus,” she said. “The newest addition is in the Kailash Mital Theatre.”
