WiMAX equipment will be tested in Ball State
The university, ranked as the top wireless campus in the country in 2005, has been granted an experimental, six-month license from the Federal Communications Commission to test WiMAX, a newly developed, faster and wider-ranging technology that could replace Ball State's current wireless service.
Ball State's existing wireless network has about 1,100 access points, each with a range of 1,500 feet and a capability of accessing 54 megabytes per second of datastream. To view an online video from a Web page like YouTube requires a minimum data stream of at least six megabytes per second, Smitherman noted.
During recent testing of WiMAX, Smitherman said Ball State researchers have discovered its strength to reach about 4 miles, a distance that, with one WiMAX access point, easily covers the 700-acre campus and nearly three miles surrounding it.
Depending on its reach and strength, Ball State's existing access points cost between $500 and $1,000 each. It is unknown yet how much WiMAX will cost when it hits the market in the months ahead.
Ball State's six-month, FCC license to test WiMAX at 3.5 gigahertz expires Feb. 15. Smitherman said the university will then test the technology at 2.5 gigahertz, which is a more common radio frequency used in the United States and thus does not require a special license.
As WiMAX equipment continues to be tested, Smitherman said he expects it to get "better and better."
"What's great is that Ball State is at the forefront of testing this technology and people will continue to associate Ball State as a technologically-rich environment," he said. "If that means we can bring more businesses that rely on technology to the area, then that's great because those are the best kinds of jobs to have in a community."
In the future, he said Ball State likely would not do away with its current wireless network, but would find a way to use WiMAX to expand the university's wireless reach and improve access in buildings on campus known for delivering weak WiFi signals.
Ball State seniors Krystina Trimble and Jen Jones say they are already behind the idea of WiMAX if it means improvements to Ball State's WiFi network.
"What we have right now is pretty good, but I've found the library is the worst for getting a signal sometimes, maybe because so many people use it in there," Trimble said.
Jones said Room 311 in the Whitinger Business Building is "notorious" for not being able to access a wireless signal. "And that's a room where you have a lot of students in sales and marketing who need it," she said.
Trimble said she also likes the idea of WiMAX becoming a wireless service provider for homeowners in rural areas. "My grandma lives out in the country, and all she can get is dial-up, which she doesn't even bother with because it's so slow," she said. "If she could get access to something like this, then maybe she could keep in better touch with her grandkids like me."
Ball State's existing wireless network has about 1,100 access points, each with a range of 1,500 feet and a capability of accessing 54 megabytes per second of datastream. To view an online video from a Web page like YouTube requires a minimum data stream of at least six megabytes per second, Smitherman noted.
During recent testing of WiMAX, Smitherman said Ball State researchers have discovered its strength to reach about 4 miles, a distance that, with one WiMAX access point, easily covers the 700-acre campus and nearly three miles surrounding it.
Depending on its reach and strength, Ball State's existing access points cost between $500 and $1,000 each. It is unknown yet how much WiMAX will cost when it hits the market in the months ahead.
Ball State's six-month, FCC license to test WiMAX at 3.5 gigahertz expires Feb. 15. Smitherman said the university will then test the technology at 2.5 gigahertz, which is a more common radio frequency used in the United States and thus does not require a special license.
As WiMAX equipment continues to be tested, Smitherman said he expects it to get "better and better."
"What's great is that Ball State is at the forefront of testing this technology and people will continue to associate Ball State as a technologically-rich environment," he said. "If that means we can bring more businesses that rely on technology to the area, then that's great because those are the best kinds of jobs to have in a community."
In the future, he said Ball State likely would not do away with its current wireless network, but would find a way to use WiMAX to expand the university's wireless reach and improve access in buildings on campus known for delivering weak WiFi signals.
Ball State seniors Krystina Trimble and Jen Jones say they are already behind the idea of WiMAX if it means improvements to Ball State's WiFi network.
"What we have right now is pretty good, but I've found the library is the worst for getting a signal sometimes, maybe because so many people use it in there," Trimble said.
Jones said Room 311 in the Whitinger Business Building is "notorious" for not being able to access a wireless signal. "And that's a room where you have a lot of students in sales and marketing who need it," she said.
Trimble said she also likes the idea of WiMAX becoming a wireless service provider for homeowners in rural areas. "My grandma lives out in the country, and all she can get is dial-up, which she doesn't even bother with because it's so slow," she said. "If she could get access to something like this, then maybe she could keep in better touch with her grandkids like me."
posted by John Baush at
5:05 AM
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