In recent years Colleges and Universities have seen a substantial growth in the adoption of mobile computing devices among students and faculty. The emergence of these devices has transformed higher education campuses into an area where Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) could be utilized to foster a collaborative and open learning environment.
Wireless LANs implemented at higher education institutions offer a number of benefits including:
- Flexibility for students and faculty to learn beyond the classroom
- Competitive technology amenities to technology savvy prospective students & faculty
- Lower cost to the IT Organization compared to running Cat5 cabling
- more…
Wireless LANs offer a number of benefits in the higher education environment but there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome when implementing the network. The laborious use of network technology in an education environment places many strains on a system and can cause additional collisions thus slowing the overall speed of the network. Sprawling University and College campuses also have to broadcast their wireless signal over large areas with the potential of weak signals in some areas. Other challenges are security and the adaptation of new disruptive technology by students and faculty.
This white paper, produced by Meru Networks, outlines the benefits and challenges of implementing a wireless Local Area Network (LAN) in a higher education institution. It also offers solutions to many of the common problems faced with the installation of a wireless LAN.
