Campus Wi-Fi coverage increasing by 20 percent

Walk into Popp Martin Student Union and experience one of UNC Charlotte’s busiest hubs of student activity. It also is the first of 24 academic and administrative campus buildings to receive Wi-Fi upgrades this fall; students should experience even faster connection speeds as the number of APs (Access Points) doubled from 71 to 142.

Overall, a total of 440 APs are being added to 24 academic and administrative buildings on campus this semester. This spreadsheet lists the buildings while showing current and new AP counts per facility. The result is a Wi-Fi coverage net increase of 44 percent for the buildings and a net increase of 20 percent for the entire campus. These upgrades are expected to be completed before the semester ends.

As part of the budget planning process, ITS uses a systematic approach to determine which buildings receive upgrades each year.

“An annual wireless survey is conducted that assesses internal and external Wi-Fi capacity and capability, academic impact and growing/changing technology,” said Jesse Beauman, assistant vice chancellor for enterprise infrastructure. This survey, along with the annual budget given, determines which buildings receive upgrades.

Remember, select eduroam (not Guest Wi-Fi) for on-campus Wi-Fi; it is faster, more secure and has greater bandwidth for students, faculty and staff.