ResNet system riddled by complaints

Richard Montgomery High School '93 Rockville, Md. The installation of the new multi-million dollar ResNet system, put in place last summer in several of the University residences, has been rife with controversy. But according to Chris Cook, coordinator of ResNet's VIDEO program, steps have been taken to eradicate problems for the future. Throughout the year, students complained that ResNet did not live up to promises. In multiple letters and promotions, students in King's Court and English House, High Rise North, Van Pelt College House and Ware College House, were told they would receive high-tech cable television options, EtherNet connections and multiple phone lines in connected dorm rooms. But many residents said they were stuck with fuzzy television reception and faulty computer connections. "They can take their cable and shove it," said Wharton junior Karen Klinger. Other students echoed Klinger's sentiments. And in December, students in Ware College House sent a letter to Interim President Claire Fagin, detailing their complaints. The letter, written by College freshman and ResNet student worker Christian Metcalfe, explained that student complaints to the University's Office of Cable Television had gone unanswered. "We have a really neat system here [with] million dollar wiring in all the dorms, and they have the equivalent of bubblegum connecting them across the streets," Metcalfe said in an interview earlier this year. Fagin said the letter was the first time she knew of the problems. Metcalfe said his letter never received a formal reply, but was followed by the installation of a new transmitter known as the "microwave link" in Ware. "Compared with what it was, it's 100 percent better, but it's still not commercial cable," Metcalfe said. "The problem that I see is that ResNet, both data and cable, [does not] react to things because they're very disorganized." According to Cook, solutions are on the way. "We tried many, many solutions to bring [the system] on-line to improve the consistency of the high quality signal over the course of the first semester," he said. "We got to the point where we'd run out of solutions and we had to go to an alternate technology." Cook said the new system in Ware has eliminated the environmental vulnerabilities of the old system. But many of the students in the high rises and Ware feel the $70 fee paid for their cable television connection was not worth the price. Some students, though, said the switch to the microwave link has dramatically improved reception. And in March, Cook said the system was performing at about 80 percent of its potential and the quality of service would soon improve. For ResNet purposes, the unwired portion of the campus has been grouped into four areas: the two remaining high rises, the graduate towers, the Quad, and the low rises and Hill House. The project, according to Dan Updegrove, director of Data Communications and Computing Services, should be completed over the next four summers. High Rise South and High Rise East are slated to be wired for ResNet this summer.