Reporter
Many CSU Bakersfield students have had a severe headache to deal with. This pain is not from homework loads or even the presidential election. It’s from the campus Wi-Fi.
CSUB junior communications major Olivia Kalahar, 23, has experienced this problem several times.
“A majority of the time you don’t get service,” said Kalahar. “ You can’t even connect. Most smartphones connect automatically, yet half the time it doesn’t work and says ‘access denied.’”
Kahalar explained how she tries to listen to music on Spotify and Pandora and ends up using her phone data. She said a few places on campus have good signal but several don’t.
“It makes me nervous because I don’t bring my laptop to school as I’m in the process of getting a new one,” said Kahalar. “What happens if I have to turn in an assignment? I work during the day and can’t get on quickly. And if I’m trying to look at Blackboard I can’t look at the app.”
Wi-Fi has been a struggle, but the agony will soon end. Christopher Diniz, who has worked as CSUB’s director of infrastructure and support services for the past three years, is in the process of upgrading the Wi-Fi with the implementation of eduroam, a new Wi-Fi network.
“Everyone in the IT department is testing eduroam. We have reevaluated the entire environment and are setting up a new environment,” said Diniz. “ CSUB+ is the [Wi-Fi network] we are having problems with.”
Diniz added that with eduroam CSUB and CSUB+ will be simplified.
“We are slowly increasing outdoor covering, looking at adding antennas into the quad area. We looked at areas like the sports fields, and the CEO was looking at ways to deliver as much possible services as we can,” said Diniz. “ I have personally used eduroam on other campuses, so I know it works well.”
Eduroam will increase Wi-Fi strength, yet phone connection is still affected by cellular service. Diniz emphasized a clear distinction between Wi-Fi and cellular signal, showing the cellular signal as the white triangle and the Wi-Fi as the black triangle. He displayed his Verizon phone, which, under eduroam, has a strong connection.
College graduate and first time CSUB communications student Reyna Hernandez, 24, has had problems with her phone’s cellular signal.
“I haven’t really had a Wi-Fi problem. I had one incident with a server error that kept saying it was “unsafe” and couldn’t connect.
Other times I have no reception on my phone, and there are no signal bars but shows an ‘X.’
While the eduroam Wi-Fi may not affect all phone cellular signals, it will help remove the choppy Wi-Fi and may determine if cellular signal is the issue.
According to Diniz, eduroam testing will end Tuesday, Nov. 15 and the IT department will send a campus-wide email to indicate the end of testing and the action plans of the new Wi-Fi.
Individuals on campus will soon have a stronger Wi-Fi signal. For more information or technology help, call the Help Desk at 661-654-2307. You can also email them directly at [email protected].
