University Square goes wireless for students

Surfing the Web from a park bench at Penn is now a reality -- University Square has gone "wireless."

Beginning on Oct. 1, the public square on 36th Street between Walnut and Sansom streets became the launch site for the University's new Wireless PennNet pilot program.

Students and faculty can access the same secure resources available through PennNet -- including the Internet, Webmail, Campus Express and Web-based library resources -- but now by using a wireless connection in University Square.

Access to PennNet requires authorization using PennKey and password, and a wireless card or computers already configured for wireless Internet usage.

The PennKey authentication as well as the measured roll-out of wireless access across the University maintains the security of the network because existing technologies have not yet secured wireless access to large portions of the campus.

As a collaboration between the University's Business Services, Information Systems and Computing and the Provost's Office, Wireless PennNet at University Square is the first phase in a small deployment approach.

"Wireless is still an immature technology. An adopted phase approach allows us to adapt as the technology continues to develop and change," ISC Vice President Robin Beck said.

The pilot program will be monitored to test the hardware capability, gauge the level of interest among students, faculty and staff, track usage patterns and provide a basis for possible expansion of Wireless PennNet to other public areas on campus.

"The University Square pilot program will help us get more in-depth knowledge about wireless at Penn," Beck said. "We hope to extend this to more common areas on campus where it is student focused, for example lounges in the college houses."

The pilot program is also being monitored to make decisions regarding funding and financial support for the wireless initiative across campus, as well as to develop models for providing additional future installations.

Although the Wireless PennNet in University Square is currently free of charge, future plans for subscriber-based services will depend on the success of the pilot program.

"We are trying to evaluate how many people are actually going to take advantage of this service through the pilot program," Associate Vice President of Business Development Lisa Prasad said. "Based on results we will determine whether to roll wireless out to other public spaces, such as College Green, as well as how to fund these expansions."

The choice of University Square as the site for the wireless pilot program was a fortunate coincidence.

"We wanted to see what could be done to bring more people outdoors and mingle in University Square, and we thought this might interest people," Prasad said. "The University wanted to test public spaces for its wireless pilot, so it worked out."

Marketing Manager for Business Development Tony Sorrentino said that Penn is responding to a technology-driven society where people expect to get work done anywhere.

"We're taking all the resources that would normally be in a library or an office and transferring it into the public realm and the public realm is what makes a city a city."

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