Wireless Internet comes to IU

In the main lobby of the Law Library, second-year student Chris Harrell checks his e-mail. He then searches the Internet for the latest court cases to aid his studies. \nHe is online, but no annoying phone cords or Ethernet cables run from his computer. \nHarrell is one of the first law students to take advantage of the wireless Ethernet technology offered by the law school, in partnership with University Information Technology Services.\nThe word "Ethernet" might inhibit some from trying the new technology, but UITS telecommunications technical adviser Tom Zeller compared it to using a cordless phone. \n"When you use a cordless phone, you sometimes have to find the right frequency," he said. Once the handset and base find a common frequency, they talk to each other through the air by riding on radio waves. \n"Wireless Ethernet works the same way," he said.\nEthernet isn't a new technology at IU. Everyone who connects in residence halls uses an Ethernet card. The card sends electrical signals over a wire at speeds up to 200 times faster than a modem. Wireless Ethernet also runs from a card inserted into a laptop. The difference is the way the signals travel.\n'How nice is that?'\nLaw students first learned of the wireless option in January 2001, when an announcement was made in the school's newsletter, Indiana Law Annotated. Within a week, Harrell said he noticed the small green light that signals a wireless connection on a classmate's laptop and tried it a day later.\nBut usage has yet to skyrocket, which means fast connections for the few users.\n"There aren't enough people on it yet to bog it down," Harrell said. "So far, it's just as fast as the land Ethernet connection in the library."\nTo demonstrate, he turns on his laptop and pulls up his e-mail account within seconds. He picks up the computer, moves to a different area, and returns to his e-mail to continue. \n"How nice is that?" he asks. "No cords anywhere."\nTrial and error\nWhile the idea of checking e-mail without having to wait in line for a computer is appealing to many, it isn't a free-for-all. One drawback is that the wireless Ethernet card can only be used in a laptop. \n"You don't want to carry your desktop computer around in the law school," said Randy Sparks, systems coordinator for the school. "We encourage all incoming students to purchase a laptop." \nBut "encourage" doesn't equal "enforce," and the law school doesn't have a laptop rental program. Wireless Ethernet is only available to students who own the computer.\nHarrell owns his own laptop and said many of his classmates do, too, because it's easier to take notes in class by typing them rather than writing. \nThis isn't the only restriction Like phones, the wireless cards communicate with receivers over a range of frequencies, and some of those frequencies are shared by digital cordless phones. Law school officials already replaced one model of phone in the building because it interfered, and Zeller said it will be trial and error as they discover other problems.\nHe said elevators and microwaves could also cause potential problems.\nUITS has installed four receivers in the law school. The maximum connection speed can be reached up to 300 feet from the server, but users might only connect at half that, depending on how well the frequency moves through the architecture. Speed also depends on physical distance from the receiver, said Zeller.\nA Work in Progress\nZeller said the wireless technology isn't in widespread use yet. \n"We're going to go slow and build momentum after we get some experience with it," he said. "Instead of going all-out day one, we want to put it in a few test locations and see how it is in the real world."\nAt IU, Zeller's "real world" includes the undergraduate side of the Main Library, where both wireless Ethernet cards and laptops can be rented. UITS is treating the library as a test program. Vern Wilkins, acting assistant director of library information technology, said so far, so good.\n"There are three access points in the undergraduate library," Wilkins said. "We have 100 percent coverage on the first floor."\nAnd there are plans to add wireless receivers to the lobby area, and potentially throughout the entire library.\nThe lobby is a large, unobstructed area, but expanding service to the stacks could be a challenge. Wilkins said he is confident that with current technology, any obstacle will be surmountable.\n"I don't think students are taking full advantage of what the network has to offer them yet," he said.\nWilkins said having wireless is especially helpful in group project situations, so that students don't have to crowd around one screen in a tiny computer lab.\nHe said he believes that the number of laptop-owning students will increase, enabling the University to more forward with developments. \n"As with all our efforts in technology, our goal is to make access to resources easier and more efficient for all users, and to provide a more comfortable and flexible environment for our patrons," he said. "The response we receive from students and faculty will go a long way toward shaping our efforts to expand our wireless services."\nOne student interested in expanding technology is IU Student Association President-elect and junior Jake Oakman, who listed technological advancement as a major campaign points in this year's IUSA elections.\n"I think this technology is an outstanding improvement," he said. "While I understand that there are always bugs to work out in new systems, I think it is a continued step in the right direction."\nOakman said he plans to work closely with UITS to voice student concerns regarding new technologies. \n"My long-term vision for IU would be to have us remain on the cutting edge in all areas of technology," he said.\nOutdoor Internet\nWhile wireless users can move up to 300 feet away from a receiver indoors, Wilkins said the range is much greater outdoors.\nLike cordless phones, it is possible to accidentally intercept outside signals such as other conversations or radio stations. Because wireless technology travels on those same frequencies, they run the risk of interception as well.\n"Wireless Ethernet is really designed for a small business, where you have 25 people in a building," explained Zeller. "If you're in the building, your connection is safe."\nUITS would like to see a day where anyone can check their e-mail from anywhere on campus, even the middle of the Arboretum. But for now, they're worried about security. \n"We can't have an environment that's wide open for anybody in the world," said Zeller. "Right now, the standard isn't really geared for that, so we're having to design something that will allow it."\nSo far, all parties involved said they are optimistic. They are able to set up and enforce security policies for laptops that are rented to students at the Main Library, and while they have no control over computers that students bring in on their own, UITS is developing a solution. \nAccording to the library's Wilkins, IU "will be able to offer a secure wireless environment for all users in the near future."\nA world of possibility\nBecause the technology is so new, questions remain. For example, how well will the system hold up if there are 20 users or more sharing the high-speed connection? And when will the rest of the campus get connected?\nAccording to Indiana Law Annotated, seven schools at IU are preparing a wireless rollout soon. \n"(The law school) was one of the first people on the list interested," Sparks said. "It matched with what we wanted to do to put technology in the classrooms."\nSparks said using the technology is safe. \n"It's just like a using a phone," he said.\nStudents can also purchase their own wireless Ethernet card. CNET.com offers the card for a discounted price of $128, and prices can range up to $200 at other sites.\nAs a law student, Harrell has used the technology twice. But he said he's excited about its possibilities. "If professors could use this technology to enhance presentations, it would make a tremendous difference in the classroom," Harrell said.\n"And of course," he said, "there's the obvious advantage of having up-to-the-minute game scores during class"