The slowly evolving presence of SF State’s wireless network will get a big boost this summer after the installation of 100 new antennas, according to the Division of Information Technology’s Julianne Tolson.

An [X]press study of SF State’s wireless Internet coverage is more recent than the college’s own “outdated” map, according to Tolson, but campus WiFi is expected to be more prolific after this summer.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was total wireless coverage,” said Tolson, director of Web and user services.
The new equipment is part of a CSU-wide effort to improve wireless Internet access on university campuses.

While DoIT will use approximately half of the antennas to replace its old equipment, the new coverage areas are currently being decided, Tolson said.

San Jose State University already has a widespread wireless network, one that students say is accessible from any building on campus. Comcast maintains the network on their campus, according to the university Web site.

At SF State, the school has tried to target areas with a high need for WiFi access. Some of the areas with poor coverage include the Student Center and the Humanities building.

“It’s kinda bad down here,” said physiology major Bart Duyer, 21, who uses his laptop from the basement of the student center. “[But] it’s closer to the games...and the food.”

Good coverage is seen in the library and the quad, places where the DoIT has had frequent requests for WiFi service, Tolson said.

“We rely on our customers” for feedback to improve the network, Tolson said. She said the department will see if user requests are “doable,” now or in the future.