Should you restrict certain devices from accessing your campus Wi-Fi Network?
Friday, April 23, 2010 Filed in: WiMAX | Ball State University
As many of you may have read in the Wall Street Journal, the release of the Apple iPad has some network administrators saying HAULT! The bandwidth-intensive Apple device has been shown to create a significant increase in network traffic, slowing down Internet connectivity for everyone. Thinking about this I began to wonder, is your network capable of handling all Wi-Fi devices in the marketplace?
It would seem to me that this tablet-like mobile device has similar, if not less, bandwidth-intensive uses than a traditional laptop or PC. Yes, the device relies heavily on Internet connectivity, but cannot complete as many tasks as the traditional student or faculty computer can. So how is the iPad consuming more bandwidth? Are some universities seeing an increase of students lounging around on campus watching videos off YouTube and Netflix that they have not before?
Today, I spoke with Vernon Draper, Director of Communication and Networking of the Nation’s #1 wireless campus, who shared his thoughts on how bandwidth-intensive devices affect wireless networks. (Published in U.S. News & World Report – Intel Ranking. http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,--37100,00.html)
Does the iPad really increase bandwidth usage?
We haven’t tested them directly, so we cannot answer if the iPad has significantly increased bandwidth usage on campus. However, remember that the network administrator’s number one job is to keep the network operational (which includes usable) for all users!
What type of bandwidth management concerns arises with the iPad? Do you believe streaming video is a primary concern?
The BSU campus network was actually designed with the support of large video streams in mind. There are limitations to wireless “shared” bandwidth that is inherent in Wi-Fi as a technology that can present an issue but the iPad is not unique to the problem. Our bandwidth management policies and procedures on campus work well. The problems experienced are occasional discovery of pockets of limited Wi-Fi signal but most wireless issues center around the limitation of Wi-Fi as a “shared” bandwidth and radio wave interference by other equipment and/or obstacles.
Today, Ball State University does an effective job at regulating network traffic. Although BSU is extremely fair by restricting as little as possible, some ports that can create vulnerability and increased traffic are blocked, such as peer-to-peer networks that are often used to [illegally] share or redistribute audio and video content.
Under some conditions, blocking ports to protect users from the outside or each other may be necessary. If a traffic management issue is extreme and is caused by a particular device instead of a port, protecting users form that device may also be necessary. Actions such as these should always be done as sparingly as possible.
Understanding effective traffic management is key to running a successful network. Do you currently have policies in place that deal with bandwidth issues? Are students aware of them? If so, how?
We do have some policies in place. As I mentioned before, we block some ports associated with applications that do a poor job of respecting other user’s traffic, such as P2P applications.
On campus, BSU offers three different types of Wi-Fi SSIDs. The lowest of them is the “bsuguest” SSID, allowing guests of BSU to access our network without the need of a password. In turn, the allowable bandwidth is decreased, while also prohibiting access to network resources. For all of our students, faculty and staff, they have the additional option of connecting to the SSIDs of either “bsu” or “bsusecure”. These SSIDs do not impose a restricted bandwidth that our guests receive.
How do we get the word out? There are others areas more directly involved in communication to the campus and we interact with those areas to pass information of major events or changes. From within the network area, we host www.bsu.edu/network which has information related to almost every aspect of the network. We also communicate this type of information through Tech4U and similar campus technology events. More general information about wireless is also at http://www.bsu.edu/wireless.
Sounds like you have really thought about access and security for members of the university. Can you think of a point in time at which you would be forced to revisit this network policy?
Yes. Anytime an issue threatens the overall operational status of the network as a service. However, we do continue to keep focus on being “allow” oriented as opposed to “deny” oriented.
Does your network services department work with the help desk in identifying potential issues with new devices? What has Ball State done to prepare?
We work to try to keep the helpdesk aware of potential network issues that may be coming their way. Like the users who call them, we also have a symbiotic relationship with the helpdesk. The more we can help them field network issues for users, the easier it is for us to get our work done. We were in contact with the helpdesk about the potential iPad issues prior to the problem.
Lastly, are there any additional instances where you would consider throttling service by device, or by type of service (such as video)?
Yes, security issues. Operational network health issues, etc.
-----
After speaking to Vernon, I was excited to hear that a university of 20,000 students continually researches new products and devices, providing due diligence to maintain the best Wi-Fi network experience possible.
I completely understand that some universities may have concerns about new devices, the iPad in particular this time around—but what device will come next? As our society continually increases usage of mobile, bandwidth-intense devices, we need to embrace the challenge, and plan accordingly to provide an enjoyable experience for our users.
I’m curious of the SP Mobility Community – what challenges do you face with new products that increase network usage? Have you put a plan into place to accommodate the increase in traffic?
What it will boil down to is the user experience. Colleges and Universities house the largest demographic for emerging technologies. Who will have to suffer? Will universities have to shell out additional funding to beef up their wireless networks, or will the students, who may be told they cannot use the devices they think can make their lives just a little bit easier?
It would seem to me that this tablet-like mobile device has similar, if not less, bandwidth-intensive uses than a traditional laptop or PC. Yes, the device relies heavily on Internet connectivity, but cannot complete as many tasks as the traditional student or faculty computer can. So how is the iPad consuming more bandwidth? Are some universities seeing an increase of students lounging around on campus watching videos off YouTube and Netflix that they have not before?
Today, I spoke with Vernon Draper, Director of Communication and Networking of the Nation’s #1 wireless campus, who shared his thoughts on how bandwidth-intensive devices affect wireless networks. (Published in U.S. News & World Report – Intel Ranking. http://www.bsu.edu/news/article/0,1370,--37100,00.html)
Does the iPad really increase bandwidth usage?
We haven’t tested them directly, so we cannot answer if the iPad has significantly increased bandwidth usage on campus. However, remember that the network administrator’s number one job is to keep the network operational (which includes usable) for all users!
What type of bandwidth management concerns arises with the iPad? Do you believe streaming video is a primary concern?
The BSU campus network was actually designed with the support of large video streams in mind. There are limitations to wireless “shared” bandwidth that is inherent in Wi-Fi as a technology that can present an issue but the iPad is not unique to the problem. Our bandwidth management policies and procedures on campus work well. The problems experienced are occasional discovery of pockets of limited Wi-Fi signal but most wireless issues center around the limitation of Wi-Fi as a “shared” bandwidth and radio wave interference by other equipment and/or obstacles.
Today, Ball State University does an effective job at regulating network traffic. Although BSU is extremely fair by restricting as little as possible, some ports that can create vulnerability and increased traffic are blocked, such as peer-to-peer networks that are often used to [illegally] share or redistribute audio and video content.
Under some conditions, blocking ports to protect users from the outside or each other may be necessary. If a traffic management issue is extreme and is caused by a particular device instead of a port, protecting users form that device may also be necessary. Actions such as these should always be done as sparingly as possible.
Understanding effective traffic management is key to running a successful network. Do you currently have policies in place that deal with bandwidth issues? Are students aware of them? If so, how?
We do have some policies in place. As I mentioned before, we block some ports associated with applications that do a poor job of respecting other user’s traffic, such as P2P applications.
On campus, BSU offers three different types of Wi-Fi SSIDs. The lowest of them is the “bsuguest” SSID, allowing guests of BSU to access our network without the need of a password. In turn, the allowable bandwidth is decreased, while also prohibiting access to network resources. For all of our students, faculty and staff, they have the additional option of connecting to the SSIDs of either “bsu” or “bsusecure”. These SSIDs do not impose a restricted bandwidth that our guests receive.
How do we get the word out? There are others areas more directly involved in communication to the campus and we interact with those areas to pass information of major events or changes. From within the network area, we host www.bsu.edu/network which has information related to almost every aspect of the network. We also communicate this type of information through Tech4U and similar campus technology events. More general information about wireless is also at http://www.bsu.edu/wireless.
Sounds like you have really thought about access and security for members of the university. Can you think of a point in time at which you would be forced to revisit this network policy?
Yes. Anytime an issue threatens the overall operational status of the network as a service. However, we do continue to keep focus on being “allow” oriented as opposed to “deny” oriented.
Does your network services department work with the help desk in identifying potential issues with new devices? What has Ball State done to prepare?
We work to try to keep the helpdesk aware of potential network issues that may be coming their way. Like the users who call them, we also have a symbiotic relationship with the helpdesk. The more we can help them field network issues for users, the easier it is for us to get our work done. We were in contact with the helpdesk about the potential iPad issues prior to the problem.
Lastly, are there any additional instances where you would consider throttling service by device, or by type of service (such as video)?
Yes, security issues. Operational network health issues, etc.
-----
After speaking to Vernon, I was excited to hear that a university of 20,000 students continually researches new products and devices, providing due diligence to maintain the best Wi-Fi network experience possible.
I completely understand that some universities may have concerns about new devices, the iPad in particular this time around—but what device will come next? As our society continually increases usage of mobile, bandwidth-intense devices, we need to embrace the challenge, and plan accordingly to provide an enjoyable experience for our users.
I’m curious of the SP Mobility Community – what challenges do you face with new products that increase network usage? Have you put a plan into place to accommodate the increase in traffic?
What it will boil down to is the user experience. Colleges and Universities house the largest demographic for emerging technologies. Who will have to suffer? Will universities have to shell out additional funding to beef up their wireless networks, or will the students, who may be told they cannot use the devices they think can make their lives just a little bit easier?
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From Point A to B
...reposted from Ball State University, "Making an Impact"...
When it comes to wireless broadband, Ryan Lasure is playing a leading role as he works on a Ball State University project testing the ultrafast communications system known as WiMAX.
Lasure, ’10, MS information and communication sciences, is overseeing a usability study for wireless broadband.
Using towers rather than fiber optics, WiMAX promises to extend high-speed Internet access to previously underserved areas, relieving the pressure placed on existing wireless infrastructure by the growing use of smart phones and new mobile devices such as the iPad.
"It is an amazing opportunity to be at Ball State and working at the first location in North America to test the newest WiMAX equipment," says Lasure, who hails from Sterling Heights, Michigan. "Ball State is on the leading edge of wireless communications, and it shows by the resources the university is putting into this project. "
Ball State has partnered with Alvarion, Cisco Systems, and others to test stationary and mobile wireless since 2005. And universities and colleges around the country are knocking on Ball State's door for help in building their wireless broadband systems. Ball State recently built and is remotely managing a small test bed of wireless broadband for the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus.
In Muncie, Indiana, Lasure is leading a group of students to examine how students living in near-campus neighborhoods may use wireless broadband.
“In my role, I lead a student team to coordinate with all the users and provide surveys to gauge how our network is operating,” he says. “It has improved my organizational skills by handling about 150 students. The project also has allowed me to further understand market research.”
Lasure also is blogging about his experience for the Cisco Mobility Community.
“It is obvious that Ryan has great leadership potential because he knows what is going on, takes charge, and has moved the WiMAX project forward,” said Kirsten Smith, associate director, technology officer and labs manager for Ball State’s Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS).
“He has a great attitude and is organized, thoughtful and proactive. And through it all, he still manages to be fun to work with. He understands the big picture as well as the elements that make up that picture. I believe he will be highly successful in whatever future he makes for himself.”
Additional links:
When it comes to wireless broadband, Ryan Lasure is playing a leading role as he works on a Ball State University project testing the ultrafast communications system known as WiMAX.
Lasure, ’10, MS information and communication sciences, is overseeing a usability study for wireless broadband.
Using towers rather than fiber optics, WiMAX promises to extend high-speed Internet access to previously underserved areas, relieving the pressure placed on existing wireless infrastructure by the growing use of smart phones and new mobile devices such as the iPad.
"It is an amazing opportunity to be at Ball State and working at the first location in North America to test the newest WiMAX equipment," says Lasure, who hails from Sterling Heights, Michigan. "Ball State is on the leading edge of wireless communications, and it shows by the resources the university is putting into this project. "
Ball State has partnered with Alvarion, Cisco Systems, and others to test stationary and mobile wireless since 2005. And universities and colleges around the country are knocking on Ball State's door for help in building their wireless broadband systems. Ball State recently built and is remotely managing a small test bed of wireless broadband for the University of Wisconsin’s Madison campus.
In Muncie, Indiana, Lasure is leading a group of students to examine how students living in near-campus neighborhoods may use wireless broadband.
“In my role, I lead a student team to coordinate with all the users and provide surveys to gauge how our network is operating,” he says. “It has improved my organizational skills by handling about 150 students. The project also has allowed me to further understand market research.”
Lasure also is blogging about his experience for the Cisco Mobility Community.
“It is obvious that Ryan has great leadership potential because he knows what is going on, takes charge, and has moved the WiMAX project forward,” said Kirsten Smith, associate director, technology officer and labs manager for Ball State’s Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS).
“He has a great attitude and is organized, thoughtful and proactive. And through it all, he still manages to be fun to work with. He understands the big picture as well as the elements that make up that picture. I believe he will be highly successful in whatever future he makes for himself.”
Additional links:
Q&A: Ball State University expands WiMAX testbed
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Filed in: WiMAX | Ball State University
- from Network World by Brad Reed..
Ryan Lasure, a 23-year-old Ball State student who is pursuing his Master's degree in information and communications sciences, took some time this week to talk with Network World about the work Ball State does with its WiMAX network and how it plans to eventually open up the network to its 20,000 students to use for free.
How long has Ball State had its WiMAX network up and operational?
Our network first came online in 2006 and we started with the fixed WiMAX 802.16d standard. But within the last year, we've started using the mobile 802.16e WiMAX standard as well. So far we've mostly used it to help wireless providers and equipment companies like Cisco, Alvarion and DigitalBridge test their products and equipment. We basically test out their equipment and send reports back to them.
How much ground does the WiMAX network cover?
It covers about a 2-mile radius with five base stations. The base stations are all on campus, with four that point off campus and one that points downward onto campus. All of them are on university buildings so we don't have to put any equipment on towers.
The network is currently being used by a limited number of student test subjects. Can you tell us what you're testing?
We have what's called a WiMAX usability study where we've recruited 150 student testers to use the WiMAX network. While initially we preferred to have students living within a half mile radius of the base stations, we've now allowed people in the 1- to 2-mile range to sign on as well. What we're looking for in these tests is information on the user experience with the network and to see how good they feel their connection is based on both speed and reliability.
One experiment we did was a blind study where half of our users were dialed down to maximum download speeds of 1Mbps. We did this without telling them to see if they noticed a difference in their experience. Although most of the users said they were just using it for simple stuff such as basic Web browsing, we had around 25% to 30% of users who were using the network for bandwidth-intensive applications and Web sites. So when we looked at those users who would have traditionally said they got excellent speed, their perception of the network went from excellent to either adequate or poor. Because there are so few people on the network right now, the heavy users were used to getting speeds as high as 16Mbps. We conducted this experiment to gauge what user experiences would be if the network were to get more people on it.
How do you plan to spread the use of the WiMAX network beyond this initial testing group?
We have students working on business models right now to determine whether we should offer anyone on campus or off-campus access for free or whether we should charge them a fee that would be lower than what other ISPs would charge. We're also working on determining what we should charge to businesses and others in the broader community if they wanted to use the network.
Why did Ball State decide to go with WiMAX instead of waiting for LTE to be more fully developed?
Ball State is very much interested in being on the cutting edge, and WiMAX is simply a more mature technology than LTE at the present time. We can actually deploy it and use it. I would definitely say that if we came into a relationship with someone who wanted us to test LTE as well, we would absolutely do it. But with WiMAX we have licensing to use 2.5GHz spectrum right now, while we don't have licensing for the 700MHz spectrum that LTE would operate on. While we don't directly own the rights to the 2.5GHz from the FCC, we do have an agreement with Clearwire and Sprint who let us use the spectrum for free when they're not using it themselves.
Presuming the testing goes well, what applications will Ball State use the WiMAX network for in the future?
In the near term we're interested in giving students living within a reasonable distance from campus access to the network for free. That will give us the ability to provide students and faculty with a wireless Internet connection they can use anywhere in the area. But as far as academic applications go, that's something the university will have to decide on. What we're trying to do is educate the university on what they can use the network for, and they can decide where to take things from there.
Original story - http://www.networkworld.com/nwlookup.jsp?rid=207154
Copyright Network World
Delaware County 9-1-1 Twitter
Saturday, April 10, 2010 Filed in: Ball State University | Video
Effective communication in the event of a crisis is crucial to maintaining a level of calm and organization for everyone involved or effected. Social media is quickly becoming a method of effective communication, if used properly. In a story by NewsLink Indiana, I speak about the crucial need for there to be protocols and procedures in place when using social media to communicate with the public in the event of a crisis.
Full article and video can be found by clicking here.
Full article and video can be found by clicking here.
Our WiMAX Student Testers have Spoken!
Friday, February 19, 2010 Filed in: WiMAX | Ball State University
...reposted from the Cisco SP Mobility Community blog...
We’ve been extremely busy with multiple projects that are currently occurring with our WiMAX network. One of our projects includes our WiMAX Usability Study. Various students of Ball State University have agreed to participate, in exchange for a free broadband Internet connection! Oh, and we ask that the students complete a few surveys per month. Sounds pretty awesome, right?
Today, I’d like to share with you some results from a recent study conducted among the student testers! This is a preliminary survey, so we covered very basic information. Will the results surprise you? Or are the results something you would have expected? Lets see!
Most recently, we have given away USB WiMAX dongles to students, and asked them to complete the installation process themselves. This process includes self-installing the driver/device software, followed by inserting the USB dongle, and disabling their WiFi connection. From that, we found that:
Student testers are asked to use WiMAX whenever convenient. In most cases, students already have an Internet connection, whether it be at their own residence, or while on campus. We asked them where they used their connection most (students were allowed to select multiple choices) and found that:
When asking how many hours per week they connected to WiMAX last week, we found the following usage:
We also wanted to know the approximate time of day they used their WiMAX connection (Students were able to select multiple choices). We found out that:
Again, those were just a few preliminary questions that we asked, and plan to ask the same questions again over time, to see if there are any particular trends that form.
What are your thoughts about our findings? Are there any questions you would like answered? Post your comments and questions! We want to know!
We’ve been extremely busy with multiple projects that are currently occurring with our WiMAX network. One of our projects includes our WiMAX Usability Study. Various students of Ball State University have agreed to participate, in exchange for a free broadband Internet connection! Oh, and we ask that the students complete a few surveys per month. Sounds pretty awesome, right?
Today, I’d like to share with you some results from a recent study conducted among the student testers! This is a preliminary survey, so we covered very basic information. Will the results surprise you? Or are the results something you would have expected? Lets see!
Most recently, we have given away USB WiMAX dongles to students, and asked them to complete the installation process themselves. This process includes self-installing the driver/device software, followed by inserting the USB dongle, and disabling their WiFi connection. From that, we found that:
- 50.0% of students felt that the installation was easy
- 36.8% of students found the installation to be moderately difficult
- 0% found it very difficult
- 13.2% of students were unsuccessful at installing on their own
- Reasons why students were unsuccessful were things as simple as they have not gotten a chance to self-install at the time of the survey, to operating-system type issues such as the non-driver support for Windows 7 (all versions) running 32-bit.
Student testers are asked to use WiMAX whenever convenient. In most cases, students already have an Internet connection, whether it be at their own residence, or while on campus. We asked them where they used their connection most (students were allowed to select multiple choices) and found that:
- 57.4% of students connect off-campus
- 42.6% connect on-campus
When asking how many hours per week they connected to WiMAX last week, we found the following usage:
- 16.7% of students never used their WiMAX connection (0 Hours)
- 13% used their connection between 0 and 1 hours
- 29.6% used their connection between 1 and 3 hours
- 9.3% used their connection between 3 and 5 hours
- 7.4% used their connection between 5 and 7 hours
- 7.4% used their connection between 7 and 9 hours
- 16.7% used their connection for more than 9 hours
- Of that 16.7%, our ‘power users’ averaged just under 40 hours of connection time per-week
We also wanted to know the approximate time of day they used their WiMAX connection (Students were able to select multiple choices). We found out that:
- Students connected between the morning hours of 5AM-9AM 9.3% of the time
- Students connected between the daytime hours of 9AM-5PM 44.4% of the time
- Students connected between the evening hours of 5PM-11PM 70.4% of the time
- Students connected between the late night hours of 11PM-5AM 18.4% of the time
Again, those were just a few preliminary questions that we asked, and plan to ask the same questions again over time, to see if there are any particular trends that form.
What are your thoughts about our findings? Are there any questions you would like answered? Post your comments and questions! We want to know!
We've come a long way in just five years!
Sunday, January 24, 2010 Filed in: WiMAX | Ball State University
...reposted from the Cisco SP Mobility Community blog...
WiMAX! WiMAX! Read all about it! As we continue to evaluate and expand on our WiMAX network here at Ball State, we thought you might like to read more on where our WiMAX network started, and how far we have come! Just five years ago in 2005, Intel Corporation proclaimed Ball State University as the Nation’s Top Wireless Campus. Since then, Ball State has continually strived to test and utilize the newest wireless technologies. In 2006 and 2007, Ball State took advantage of our position in the world of wireless technology and aligned ourselves with key players in the broadband wireless industry. Using Alvarion’s BreezeMAX 3500 wireless hardware, including indoor and outdoor customer premises equipment (CPE), we became the first university to test and deploy fixed WiMAX in the United States!
Muncie, Indiana, provided the perfect environment for wireless testing. Our coverage area included a single sector with a 120-degree path that offered a range of approximately 1 mile for indoor CPE and 5 miles for outdoor CPE. Of course, the area of coverage varied depending on RF obstructions like vegetation and buildings. During the testing, Ball State looked to identify upload and download speeds at various locations, using indoor and outdoor CPE. Publishing our fixed WiMAX (802.16d) results in February 2007, we found that when using BreezeMAX equipment on a 3.5 MHz channel, we could receive speeds around 8Mbps using outdoor CPE, and 4Mbps using indoor CPE.
In mid-2008, the Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS) at Ball State was introduced to the Cisco Broadband Wireless Business Unit responsible for WiMAX. During that time, Ball State University was selected by Cisco to become the first domestic site to deploy, test, and map Mobile WiMAX (802.16e) in the United States. We then began to document the baseline performance of Smart Beamforming technology utilizing Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas. It was exciting for us to have an opportunity to utilize the Educational Broadband System (EBS) licensed frequency of 2.5 GHz and provide a platform for continuous testing.
Pre-test benchmarking for Mobile WiMAX later occurred in late 2008, early 2009 with a single base station antenna on top of an on-campus Dormitory. During this period, Cisco named Ball State the first domestic Early Field Trial (EFT) location for Mobile WiMAX! This has been an amazing opportunity for us; establishing a partnership that includes ancillary benefits on early equipment availability, testing and pricing. Subsequent testing expanded to include multiple P3 base stations and antennas, using Cisco’s AAA server and ASN gateways products.
As recent as late Fall of 2009, Ball State introduced a student usability study, allowing us to further analyze several aspects of our WiMAX network. Phase 1 includes students who live within a ½ mile radius of campus (click here to see our current coverage map). We provided selected students with free WiMAX enabled USB dongles.
In return, students are asked to participate in feedback surveys, providing information such as data transmission rates, downtime issues, and distance of successful and unsuccessful usage from campus. Later in the spring, we plan to move into Phase 2 where we will expand the test radius to 2 miles from campus, add more student users to the WiMAX network, utilize new P4 base stations and antennas operating at a 10 MHz channel width, and begin testing of third-party devices with embedded WiMAX chipsets. Devices we plan to test include (but are not limited to) USB dongles, laptops, netbooks, VoIP telephony, and GPS embedded devices.
Next week, we plan to give you insight as to how we find student testers! You would probably assume that if you told a college student they could get FREE wireless broadband Internet, they would jump right on the bandwagon right? Well, find out next week if it was actually that easy, or if we ran into any pushback!
WiMAX! WiMAX! Read all about it! As we continue to evaluate and expand on our WiMAX network here at Ball State, we thought you might like to read more on where our WiMAX network started, and how far we have come! Just five years ago in 2005, Intel Corporation proclaimed Ball State University as the Nation’s Top Wireless Campus. Since then, Ball State has continually strived to test and utilize the newest wireless technologies. In 2006 and 2007, Ball State took advantage of our position in the world of wireless technology and aligned ourselves with key players in the broadband wireless industry. Using Alvarion’s BreezeMAX 3500 wireless hardware, including indoor and outdoor customer premises equipment (CPE), we became the first university to test and deploy fixed WiMAX in the United States!
Muncie, Indiana, provided the perfect environment for wireless testing. Our coverage area included a single sector with a 120-degree path that offered a range of approximately 1 mile for indoor CPE and 5 miles for outdoor CPE. Of course, the area of coverage varied depending on RF obstructions like vegetation and buildings. During the testing, Ball State looked to identify upload and download speeds at various locations, using indoor and outdoor CPE. Publishing our fixed WiMAX (802.16d) results in February 2007, we found that when using BreezeMAX equipment on a 3.5 MHz channel, we could receive speeds around 8Mbps using outdoor CPE, and 4Mbps using indoor CPE.
In mid-2008, the Center for Information and Communication Sciences (CICS) at Ball State was introduced to the Cisco Broadband Wireless Business Unit responsible for WiMAX. During that time, Ball State University was selected by Cisco to become the first domestic site to deploy, test, and map Mobile WiMAX (802.16e) in the United States. We then began to document the baseline performance of Smart Beamforming technology utilizing Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) antennas. It was exciting for us to have an opportunity to utilize the Educational Broadband System (EBS) licensed frequency of 2.5 GHz and provide a platform for continuous testing.
Pre-test benchmarking for Mobile WiMAX later occurred in late 2008, early 2009 with a single base station antenna on top of an on-campus Dormitory. During this period, Cisco named Ball State the first domestic Early Field Trial (EFT) location for Mobile WiMAX! This has been an amazing opportunity for us; establishing a partnership that includes ancillary benefits on early equipment availability, testing and pricing. Subsequent testing expanded to include multiple P3 base stations and antennas, using Cisco’s AAA server and ASN gateways products.
As recent as late Fall of 2009, Ball State introduced a student usability study, allowing us to further analyze several aspects of our WiMAX network. Phase 1 includes students who live within a ½ mile radius of campus (click here to see our current coverage map). We provided selected students with free WiMAX enabled USB dongles.
In return, students are asked to participate in feedback surveys, providing information such as data transmission rates, downtime issues, and distance of successful and unsuccessful usage from campus. Later in the spring, we plan to move into Phase 2 where we will expand the test radius to 2 miles from campus, add more student users to the WiMAX network, utilize new P4 base stations and antennas operating at a 10 MHz channel width, and begin testing of third-party devices with embedded WiMAX chipsets. Devices we plan to test include (but are not limited to) USB dongles, laptops, netbooks, VoIP telephony, and GPS embedded devices.
Next week, we plan to give you insight as to how we find student testers! You would probably assume that if you told a college student they could get FREE wireless broadband Internet, they would jump right on the bandwagon right? Well, find out next week if it was actually that easy, or if we ran into any pushback!
Welcome to WiMAX at Ball State University!
Friday, January 15, 2010 Filed in: Ball State University | WiMAX
...reposted from the Cisco SP Mobility Community blog...
Hello from Muncie, Indiana! On behalf of Ball State University, we are excited to become a part of the Cisco Mobility Community. Beginning in 2005, Ball State has become a national leader in technology by building a wireless broadband network that has created limitless possibilities for our campus. Currently, our 100% Cisco IT infrastructure includes the first domestic deployment of mobile WiMAX technology, which we are testing with students, and specific project teams for Cisco and other third party vendors.
Over the next few months, we are excited to share Ball State’s journey with WiMAX technology. We plan to cover topics such as:
As we continue through the academic semester, we plan to add addition blog posts, photos and video, hoping to provide as much information about the WiMAX network at Ball State as possible! As students, we are extremely interested in hearing your thoughts, suggestions, comments and concerns! If you have any specific questions about our network, or would like us to research something in more detail, please ask!
We look forward to sharing our findings from Ball State!
Ryan Lasure Graduate Assistant and Institute Fellow
Center for Information and Communication Sciences Ball State University
Hello from Muncie, Indiana! On behalf of Ball State University, we are excited to become a part of the Cisco Mobility Community. Beginning in 2005, Ball State has become a national leader in technology by building a wireless broadband network that has created limitless possibilities for our campus. Currently, our 100% Cisco IT infrastructure includes the first domestic deployment of mobile WiMAX technology, which we are testing with students, and specific project teams for Cisco and other third party vendors.
Over the next few months, we are excited to share Ball State’s journey with WiMAX technology. We plan to cover topics such as:
- The history of WiMAX at Ball State
- Process for obtaining student testers/users
- Ball State’s current WiMAX Infrastructure
- Installation of a Cisco P4 WiMAX Antenna
- Field Testing
- Educational Broadband System (EBS) Policy Issues
- Student Usability Study
- Managing a WiMAX network within a University (Collaborating with multiple departments)
- MIMO & Beam-Forming Technologies
- Providing WiMAX service to local community
As we continue through the academic semester, we plan to add addition blog posts, photos and video, hoping to provide as much information about the WiMAX network at Ball State as possible! As students, we are extremely interested in hearing your thoughts, suggestions, comments and concerns! If you have any specific questions about our network, or would like us to research something in more detail, please ask!
We look forward to sharing our findings from Ball State!
Ryan Lasure Graduate Assistant and Institute Fellow
Center for Information and Communication Sciences Ball State University
Defining moments | Telecommunications Industry
Alright, so to begin, there is this company called Experience that I signed up to get emails from every once in a while. I agreed to this either sometime during high school, or sometime when I was doing registration through the business school at Western. Anyways, like I said, every once in a while they send you emails about great opportunities to meet important people in many of today’s popular career fields.
I was sent an email about the opportunity to meet with the Regional President of the New York Metro Region for Verizon Wireless. I applied for this opportunity and became a finalist among the hundreds of students in the US. A few days later, I had a phone interview, and was offered the position on the spot! How awesome!
In this interview, I kind of play what I refer to as Barbra Walters on 20/20. I sit there and ask Charles Hand questions, and he responds to them. One camera angle on me, and the other on him.. but here’s the thing!.. I wasn’t actually taped at the same time I was conducting the interview. What Experience does is record ONE persona at a time! The cameraman taped Charles first, and then after he left, they recorded me! They literally sat a potted plant in front of me, and I talked to it as if it were him! Very weird, but after editing it all worked out!
I had such a great time, and learned a lot from this opportunity. Experience will fly students from all over the country to offer this amazing opportunity to them! It definitely was a LOT of flights (4 total!) in 2 days time, but all worth it! I hope you enjoy (although this video IS 3+ years old!).
To view this video, please click here.
I was sent an email about the opportunity to meet with the Regional President of the New York Metro Region for Verizon Wireless. I applied for this opportunity and became a finalist among the hundreds of students in the US. A few days later, I had a phone interview, and was offered the position on the spot! How awesome!
In this interview, I kind of play what I refer to as Barbra Walters on 20/20. I sit there and ask Charles Hand questions, and he responds to them. One camera angle on me, and the other on him.. but here’s the thing!.. I wasn’t actually taped at the same time I was conducting the interview. What Experience does is record ONE persona at a time! The cameraman taped Charles first, and then after he left, they recorded me! They literally sat a potted plant in front of me, and I talked to it as if it were him! Very weird, but after editing it all worked out!
I had such a great time, and learned a lot from this opportunity. Experience will fly students from all over the country to offer this amazing opportunity to them! It definitely was a LOT of flights (4 total!) in 2 days time, but all worth it! I hope you enjoy (although this video IS 3+ years old!).
To view this video, please click here.