High-density Wi-Fi provides more bandwidth for classroom instruction 

When NC State professors schedule a 210 classroom or lab for the fall semester, they won’t have to worry if it has sufficient Wi-Fi for instructional purposes; it will. 

In February, OIT Communication Technologies (ComTech) completed a project to equip 187 of the 210 spaces with high-density Wi-Fi, providing the bandwidth to support classroom instruction and countless devices that students bring into these learning spaces. These 210 spaces are supported by campus colleges and departments. 

Now, there are 427 learning spaces across campus with instructional Wi-Fi, including 110 classrooms that are managed by NC State Registration and Records.

“It was a real campus need, and it was frustrating for faculty to go into a classroom or teaching lab and not know if there was adequate wireless for instructional purposes,” said Ed Rogers, ComTech’s director of engineering and construction. The issue was raised by the campus Infrastructure Technologies Advisory Group as a major concern for many colleges, he said. 

According to Rogers, to meet instructional needs, faculty members selected a classroom or lab based on the availability of Wi-Fi. “They had to go to a spreadsheet that told them if the room had Wi-Fi or not,” he said. “Starting with the fall semester, they will know that the room has Wi-Fi when they walk in. It should make it easier from a classroom scheduling perspective.”

Rogers said high-density Wi-Fi coverage provides one access point per 40 seats in a classroom. The wireless access points are spaced appropriately in equal zones so that everyone has the same Wi-Fi experience.