The St. Michael’s Student Association (S.A.), Information Technology (IT) and interested students met with representatives from Sprint over the past week to discuss the future of wireless technology on the St. Michael’s campus.
The college and Sprint are currently negotiating and exploring options for the new technology. Specific plans and deals have not yet been made, according to Catherine Cook, S.A. secretary of academics.
Sprinting for change
Chad Beecher, public sector account manager for Sprint, started working with St. Michael’s about a year ago, he says. Sprint’s goal is to provide students with both cell phone and broadband coverage, Beecher says.
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If a contract is signed with Sprint, a wireless tower would be installed on the chimney of the Cheray Science Building. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) |
If a contract is signed, the company would attach a tower to the chimney on the Cheray Science Building, according to Bill Anderson of IT. Anywhere a Sprint tower is located, individuals would receive cell phone coverage as well as a broadband connection, Beecher says. Broadband refers to high-speed Internet access.
The college currently has wireless Internet in the library and a majority of classrooms, Anderson says. The college plans to install wireless in the remaining classrooms, excluding three or four, according to Anderson. The current wireless system only works where there are “access points” installed, he says.
It would cost around $2 million to install access points in the remaining classrooms and residence buildings, Anderson says. Sprint has a different idea.
“This program says ‘let's let Sprint spend a half million instead and make the cost palatable to the students,’” Beecher says.
If the college did sign a contract with Sprint, the current access points would remain, he says.
With the Sprint plan, students would receive a USB chip that supports all types of computers. With the chip or “air card,” students would receive a signal throughout the United States, Anderson says.
The current designated wireless hot spots on campus use standard Wi-Fi. Although the mobile internet offered by Sprint is not as the curent hot spots, their coverage offers greater mobility, says Andy Day, telacommunications manager at St. Michael’s. The range of the college’s current wireless is limited by the Federal Communications Commission, a typical range being 50 to 100 feet, Day says.
“Carriers are rolling out ‘Four G,’ what they call ‘fourth generation of data,” Day says. “A lot of this Four G will start being built into laptops and mobile devices and I think it’s in the best interest of the college to explore this direction of technology.”
St. Michael’s College would be first college to go wireless through Sprint, Beecher says.
“We hope students and colleges across the county will eventually embrace this newer technology,” he says.
Can you see me now?
Sprint is also offering cell phones to St. Michael’s students. The cell phones would be used to further take advantage of Rave, a program that aims to increase safety on college campuses through the use of mobile phones, Day says. Companies other than Rave also offer text alert, but the college chose Rave because it offered a range of other products, according to Day.
These products include Guardian, a form of GPS tracking that directly links a student to their location. Students would be able to activate a timer on their cell phones and deactivate it upon arriving at their destination. If the student hits a panic button or fails to deactivate the timer after the time expires, Campus Security would be immediately notified, Day says.
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Students work in the computer lab on the second floor of Durick Library. (Photo by Kaitlin Couillard) |
This could be useful for students who are walking alone on campus late at night, among other examples, Day says. Students would also be able to track the location of the shuttle bus, which would have a locator installed inside the bus. Other possibilities, for example, include the ability for teachers to directly text all students in a class to let them know that class is canceled, says Catherine Cook, secretary of the Academics Committee.
Although the college currently offers Rave text, the other features are only available for Sprint phones, Day says. These features, among others, are simply ideas, Cook says.
The cell phone would also be available to international students who are forced to purchase prepaid phones because they do not have credit. A cell phone agreement with Sprint would allow the international students to bypass prepaid phones, Cook says.
BTW, it costs money
Sprint is currently asking for a monthly student cost of $49.99 for wireless Internet. The standard rate for broadband offered at Sprint locations is $79.99/month. Both prices include unlimited use. The cost, however, is subject to change, Beecher says. Cell phone prices would range anywhere from $15-$80 a month, he adds.
Because Sprint would be making the investment in the equipment, the company would expect to offer a range of services to the student body, Anderson says. If St. Michael’s signs an agreement with the company, a certain number of people would need to sign up in order to make Sprint's investment profitable, he says.
The S.A. held a meeting on April 22, where Sprint briefly gave an overview of their offer. There was also a meeting in the Farrell Room organized through IT where students were able to speak with Sprint employees and address any problems or questions they may have had, Alex Monahan, S.A. president says.
The student body wants to have wireless, but the cost is a concern, Monahan says.
“Sprint could be an immediate fix to the problem, but the problem is it is going to cost money,” he says.
Both Monahan and Anderson say the $50 per month price could be lowered if the majority of students signed up.
Possible priority
The college and Sprint have discussed the idea of making the wireless and/or cell phone offering mandatory, rather than an option, Anderson says.
The mandatory route is the least favorable option, however, Monahan says.
The SA sent out a mass e-mail asking students if wireless was a priority, and how much they would be willing to pay, Cook says. The SA received four basic responses: “Yes, lets get it; yes, lets get it, but I don’t want to pay for it; yes, but only in common areas; and no, it’s a waste of money and I could just as easily sit at my desk and use my laptop as I could in my bed,” Cook says. Although many people seem to be in favor of wireless, there are many who are also opposed, she says.
"If it was mandatory, I would start a petition for all poor kids like me." |
- Junior Molly Dever |
“[Wireless] is the white elephant in the room, but I guess not everybody saw the need for it,” Cook says.
A number of upperclassmen are not completely convinced of the need for wireless, but as a new generation enters the college, it might be possible for them to embrace the newer technology, Cook says.
Although the discussion seems to be focused on students paying the costs, there have been discussions about possible fund-raising through alumni, as well as making it a part of the Student Activities fee, having students pay part and the college absorbs the rest. Cook stresses that these are simply options that are being discussed.
Cook does not see the costs being mandatory, she says.
“The school is not going to do something the student don’t want, and to be quite honest, wireless is not on top of the budget proposal for the board of trustees,” she says.
While she would not comment as to what items were on the top of the list, from a student perspective, housing trumps wireless, Cook says.
If the student body decides that wireless is not a priority, that does not mean St. Michael’s will not invest in wireless, Monahan says. The administration will ultimately decide, but they are open to input, he adds.
Competing opinions
Wireless would not only be beneficial to current students, but also incoming students. Both Monahan and Cook say they have been told by tour guides this is a popular question.
Cook, however, is not yet convinced that the student body sees wireless as a priority.
“It might be a quick fix to a problem, but maybe it’s a fix for a problem that doesn’t really exist,” she says.
There is absolutely no need for wireless, junior Molly Dever says.
“How many times will people actually be outside doing their homework,” she says. “I mean we live in Vermont, and by the time it's sunny out, no one wants to do work.”
The library and most academic buildings already have wireless, Dever says. And that is enough.
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The cell phone plan, while a separate plan from wireless, would provide Sprint with another opportunity to reach the St. Michael's population, Anderson says. (Photo illustration by Kaitlin Couillard) |
“I can already pick up other people’s wireless signals right now, so why pay for it if I can be connected with an excellent signal for free?” Dever says. And if I can’t have access from other peoples’, I can use my Ethernet cord right at my desk.”
The cell phone and wireless offer should be optional, she says. Dever, who already has a Verizon cell phone, pays for all her extras, including her cell phone, she says. The school should not have to pay the bill, she adds.
Dever hopes the school and the students realize that wireless is not a necessity, but a bonus, she says.
“If it was mandatory, I would start a petition for all poor kids like me,” Dever says.
Sophomore Emily Bullis is excited for wireless, but agrees that it should not be mandatory.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, but it would be a perk,” she says. “It’s one of those little things that appeals to students as well. I remember that when I toured colleges, I liked to hear that they had wireless.”
Bullis likes the idea of wireless, but thinks the cell phone is questionable because many students enter college already having a cell phone, she says.
She would be willing to pay $50 per month for wireless Internetfor the sake of convenience, Bullis says.
The current price is not close to what she thinks the majority of students would be willing to pay, Cook says. She would personally not pay more than $10 per month and believes that the price of $10-$20 per month for the student body is more realistic, she says. It all depends on the method of payment though, Cook says.
“Maybe I would pay more if it was tacked onto the tuition and I couldn’t really see it,” she says.
The numbers are still being crunched, Cook stresses. A timeframe for installation is also yet to be determined.
While negotiations are still underway, technology continues to advance.
“It’s a great way to capture the college students and the youth,” Days says. “If [Sprint] can provided this service, and provide it effectively, then it’ll be beneficial to both them and the students.”