By Chad Armstrong
As we become firmly entrenched in the 21st century, technology has advanced beyond just your office computer. More and more, wireless options have become available to let SIDs not just take their work with them on the road, but become more able to promote and expose their programs to the world.
Not every option is feasible with every school, but here are just a few developments that can help your office work more efficiently, provide better coverage or even make your program a leading presence worldwide electronically.
• WAP (Wireless Access Point): This is a simple one-way internet access tool that extends your campus’ internet reach to places that would normally not be accessible the internet. One WAP plugs into a simple wall connection, then the other plugs in at a distance up to 100 meters indoors or up to 350 meters outdoors. The key with a WAP is line of sight - you have to be able to see one WAP unit from the other, but we have used these successfully to broadcast live stats, audio and video from our otherwise “technologically challenged” softball and baseball fields since 2002.
• Wireless Laptop Access: Increasingly, cell phone providers are now providing internet connections to laptop users anywhere in the country.
The device is a PC card that slides into your laptop and, through an antenna, generates an internet connection that is “always on” - as soon as you boot up your computer, you’re connected to the internet. The limitation to this kind of access is that, much like cell phones, coverage varies from company to company and you have to pay a monthly fee, but you could literally be on the internet from a bus, a car, or inside of a gymnasium or stadium that doesn’t otherwise have access, or not enough ports of access. Which also leads to:
• Wi-Fi “Hot Spots”: Businesses have caught on, providing “hot spots” for customers who bring their laptops and work while they eat and drink.
To take advantage of this, a laptop user needs a PC card similar to the access above, but instead of a subscription service, the PC card detects that a “hot spot” is active and will allow you to log on for free, or for a nominal charge. The frequency for Wi-Fi “hot spots” is generally the same (802.11 protocol) so that no matter what brand of adapter you use, you can negotiate with the “hot spot.” How can this technology benefit the SID?
• “Hot Spot” media room - instead of having your school’s CIS department wire a media room with many phone lines or ethernet ports, you can create a “hot spot” where media members can log in through their wireless connection. Most wireless access points also allow you to plug in a conventional hub or router so that people who still use an ethernet cord can also connect.
• Press boxes and office expansion - Creating an office or a press box “hot spot” allows flexibility in where you can sit and work before, during or after events, or allow instant access to information in meetings and presentations.
With “Hot Spots,” and with any other technology question, it’s important to involve your campus CIS department with helping plan and implement these technologies. Make sure you let your CIS department know exactly how you plan to utilize your wireless idea - they will probably be hesitant at first over security concerns, but letting them know exactly who is going to use it and how will help them work out the security issues.
These are just a few ways in which cutting the cord and becoming wireless can help the SID do more with less in the days ahead. New technologies are advancing every day to make wireless internet access as fast and as reliable as standard access through a campus internet or a dialup internet connection. And when you factor in the cost of having the phone company or your CIS department install phone lines or internet connections in new buildings away from campus, the advantages of going wireless are that much more appealing.