Wifi Issues

 Wifi issues

By Jessica Troxell

 

Those Bluetooth speakers might be one reason why your Wi-Fi is slow.

The speakers, along with using your phone hotspot, printer, and other devices, are considered “rogue” devices that can connect through a smartphone and can interfere with the Wi-Fi signal, according to representatives from IT on campus.

 Peppino Muraca the manager of network services and Ryan Miranda the senior user support specialist, said Wi-Fi is strong on campus – holding around ten bandwidths of data at one time. This means that the wifi can hold a large amount of devices at one time. However, the “rogue’ devices on a campus with so many users can interfere with that.

While generally, these devices don’t interfere with wifi at one's home in a concentrated area like a dorm it can weaken signals. The increase in rogue devices makes it harder for the wifi signal to transmit clearly.

Stonehill is supplied with internet on campus through two companies Ocean and Aruba one which brings the internet to campus and the other that distributes it. The wifi is distributed across campus through access points or routers which at Stonehill are usually mounted to the ceiling. There are around 700 access points on campus that help provide wifi inside all of the academic buildings and dormitories.

Stonehill students have been complaining about Wifi speed and connection issues since the start

“I can’t even watch a YouTube video without it buffering.”  Stonehill resident Connor Doherty said.

Another student, Samantha Anthony, said she had similar issues.

“I feel like the wifi is out like every other day and it's super annoying cause I can’t do my homework in my dorm most of the time.”

 James Augustino, another student, said he had trouble connecting and staying connected to the Wifi. “Sometimes no matter where I am on campus I just can’t connect to the Wifi.”

Thomas Bonczek, who has a game console in his room, said it is tough to download games.“If I want to download a game it usually takes like a day or longer, and sometimes if I play games online the Wifi lags out too,” he said when asked about wifi speeds. 

Mr. Muraca and Mr. Miranda said that two companies bring internet to Stonehill, Ocean, and Aruba. One brings the internet to campus and the other distributes it. The wifi is distributed across campus through access points or routers which at Stonehill are usually mounted to the ceiling. There are around 700 access points on campus that help provide wifi inside all of the academic buildings and dormitories.

Stonehill's wifi can hold around ten bandwidths of data at one time this means that the wifi can hold a large amount of devices at one time.

The IT department says that if you are having issues regarding wifi on campus call the IT department at  508-565-1111 or email service-desk@stonehill.edu tell them your room number and your wifi issue and they will come out to fix the issue.