Spring Break
University Wi-Fi dumps Comcast
Husain Sumra
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: News
Accessing the wireless Internet at SJSU has gone through a change.
The wireless Internet at SJSU switched managers from Comcast to the university Friday, said an information technology consultant with academic technology at the university help desk.
Steve Sloan, also a lecturer who teaches new media, said the transition was mostly because of budget reasons.
"We're saving a lot of money," he said.
He said the process of switching from Comcast to the university was like unplugging a cable from one place and plugging it into another.
According to the new wireless login page for SJSU, users will now be redirected to the Web page they are trying to access when they attempt to log onto the network.
Sam Debey, a senior animation/illustration major, said he felt that the university managing the wireless is a good thing.
"The campus does a good job of taking care … taking matters into their own hands," he said.
Sloan said the transition has gone smoothly so far.
"I think our group has done a good job," he said.
Sophomore biology major Ghazal Mahzouni said she thought the change would be better for students.
"It would be a lot easier," she said.
Sloan said students will now get more interactivity with tech support at the help desk if they did need help.
"They can actually sit down and talk to us," he said.
Nithin Kumar, a master's student in industrial and systems engineering, said he thought the university will respond quicker to potential problems.
"I think I would get a better feedback (from the help desk)," he said.
Sloan said SJSU had different priorities compared with Comcast.
"We pride ourselves on providing the best customer service in the San Jose State community," he said.
Sloan said that although SJSU is managing the network, students shouldn't expect problems that were happening before the change to not happen now.
"It's still the same network," he said.
He said there was a period of network instability Friday, but SJSU was prepared.
"We were prepared for a lot more hiccups than there were," he said.
Justin Croly, an IT support specialist at the university help desk, said the Wi-Fi in the southern part of campus went down for a short time, and said some students were confused about the new wireless log in page.
"(Students) thought it was maybe a phishing scam or something," he said.
The wireless Internet at SJSU switched managers from Comcast to the university Friday, said an information technology consultant with academic technology at the university help desk.
Steve Sloan, also a lecturer who teaches new media, said the transition was mostly because of budget reasons.
"We're saving a lot of money," he said.
He said the process of switching from Comcast to the university was like unplugging a cable from one place and plugging it into another.
According to the new wireless login page for SJSU, users will now be redirected to the Web page they are trying to access when they attempt to log onto the network.
Sam Debey, a senior animation/illustration major, said he felt that the university managing the wireless is a good thing.
"The campus does a good job of taking care … taking matters into their own hands," he said.
Sloan said the transition has gone smoothly so far.
"I think our group has done a good job," he said.
Sophomore biology major Ghazal Mahzouni said she thought the change would be better for students.
"It would be a lot easier," she said.
Sloan said students will now get more interactivity with tech support at the help desk if they did need help.
"They can actually sit down and talk to us," he said.
Nithin Kumar, a master's student in industrial and systems engineering, said he thought the university will respond quicker to potential problems.
"I think I would get a better feedback (from the help desk)," he said.
Sloan said SJSU had different priorities compared with Comcast.
"We pride ourselves on providing the best customer service in the San Jose State community," he said.
Sloan said that although SJSU is managing the network, students shouldn't expect problems that were happening before the change to not happen now.
"It's still the same network," he said.
He said there was a period of network instability Friday, but SJSU was prepared.
"We were prepared for a lot more hiccups than there were," he said.
Justin Croly, an IT support specialist at the university help desk, said the Wi-Fi in the southern part of campus went down for a short time, and said some students were confused about the new wireless log in page.
"(Students) thought it was maybe a phishing scam or something," he said.
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