Jayla Pounds 11/6/13 Honors Composition Proposal Project November 2013 Mr.

Jack Tipshus UALR Networks Administrator Little Rock, AR Dear Mr. Tipshus, It has come to my attention that our campus Wi-Fi has been having some issues. The cause of this issue could be a number of things. The primary reason is because of the amount of traffic it has to handle. Due to this, the wireless connection is not as strong as it could be. For example, the Wi-Fi takes forever to load and at times it may not even let another student log in if too many students are already using the internet. These issues should not be happening. A student should be able to log in whenever needed in order to surf the web or complete homework assignments in a timely matter without having difficulty. Once a student is logged in, they should not be continuously kicked out of the network and forced to type in their Net ID and password again whenever too many students are using the internet service as well. A user should be able to log in and stay logged in regardless of whether two students or twenty students are already logged in. At Illinois State University, the Technology Support Center provides frequently asked questions and answers about the ResNet Wi-Fi service. This source enables students who are interested to learn more about the background information of where this Wi-Fi originated and how to correctly operate it on whatever type of computer they have. The people who are most affected by this are UALR college students. Due to the fact that most students on campus use this Wi-Fi, most of us have been inclined to experience this issue. UALR students on campus who are trying to get their homework done on time may have difficulties doing such because of the wireless problem which makes the matter a very pressing situation. An excerpt from Jimmy Dalys article on the importance of Wi-Fi to a college education says,
Wi-Fi has become so prevalent on college campuses that ABI Research said Wi-Fi penetration should reach 99% of all campuses by 2013. Colleges worldwide spent about $137 million in 2007 on Wi-Fi access points and controllers, a figure that's expected to grow to $837 million in 2013, according to ABI. This quote clearly indicates how important the Wi-Fi issue is to students on campus trying to complete college and receive a good education. UALR students who own a cell phone and/or laptop and try to connect to the internet experience the most trouble with the ResNet Wi-Fi. Computer users on campus havent seemed to be experiencing as much difficulty with connecting to the internet in a reasonable amount of time and so on. The computers in UALRs campus library connect to the internet just fine, there are rarely complaints concerning these devices. This might be because theyre owned by UALR. Whatever the case, the campus seemed to have made it a top priority to get better internet service in this location in order for the computers as well as the internet on such computers to be working effectively.

I am aware that there are two different types of Wi-Fi networks on campus (ResNet and UALR Wi-Fi); however, both seem to cause problems at times though the UALR Wi-Fi connection causes issues less often. Some might say that using UALR Wi-Fi is a solution to the problem or perhaps if students would use the library computers more often than the Wi-Fi problem would be solved. This solution is inaccurate because the whole purpose of having campus Wi-Fi is so that students will be able to do their homework and such in the comfort of their own dorm and/or living space. Also, there are not enough library computers on campus for every student to complete their assignments on so this is not an option.

One solution to this issue would be to create a better budget in order to afford a better Wi-Fi service. An excerpt from an article about Comcasts Ethernet service says, Educational institutions continually seek out innovative ways to improve the quality and reach of education, and are challenged to meet the growing high bandwidth demands for new applications while ensuring information security and content filtering. This internet service is said to be the best wireless connection to have for educational institutions and the website for such source clearly provides information on and explains the benefits of having such service. This may be an alternative to the ResNet and even the UALR Wi-Fi. Another solution would be to alert the students about the Wi-Fi in advance so that they will be able to take action on their own. One program that is said to help people properly maintains their computer so that there wont be any critical errors or system malfunctions is the Windows Error Helper, Speed Max PC. An article for such program called (How to) Fix Slow Internet Speeds was written by Dwayne C. No matter which solution is chose, the Wi-Fi issues needs to be solved as soon as possible for multiple reasons. This aspect is essential to the life as well as to the academic success of a college student. According to an article you posted on the UALR web page titled, UALR Wireless Networks Evolving, you are the person Im suppose to contact about matters such as this. Id truly appreciate it if you took some time to look into this matter so that it will be resolved in a timely manner. Sincerely,

Jayla Pounds UALR Student (freshmen)

Annotated Bibliography C., Dwayne. (How to) Fix Slow Internet Speeds. SpeedMaxPc. Windows Error Helper. Web. 30 Oct. 2013 Summary: This source is about how to properly maintain your computer so that there will not be critical errors or system malfunctions. This will ultimately enable the computers internet to run faster. Use: This source can be used in my proposal by offering a solution to an individual college student with laptops and/or cell phones that need internet access. This source enables the idea that perhaps students need to download this program in order to fix the Wi-Fi issue. Illinois State University. Technology Support Center. 2013 Web. 6 Sep. 2013 Summary: This source is about frequently asked questions that apply to ResNet registration. This cite answers various questions and provides more information about the Wi-Fi service while doing so. Use: This source will be used in order to provide background information about where the Wi-Fi service comes from. This source is also helpful in allowing the reader to understand how to correctly operate the Wi-Fi on whatever type of computer they have. Tipshus, Jack. UALR Wireless Networks Evolving. Web 2000. Summary: This source is about the migration of our wireless networks at UALR. It talks about when the migration was completed and what the benefits were to it (better signals, better radio frequency, etc.). Use: This source will be used in order to provide information about who to contact if there are any issues with the UALR Wi-Fi. This source was very helpful because it provided contact information for Jack Tipshus, UALR Networks Administrator, as well as a number for the Computer Services Help Desk. Daly, Jimmy. How Important is Wi-Fi To A College Education? ED TECH, Focus on Higher Education. Web. March 5 2013. Summary: This source was about the statistics involved with whether or not Wi-Fi access was essential to education as a classroom or a computer. This source seemed to be in favor of the idea that Wi-Fi access is essential to college students (a survey is also provided to help show that the Wi-Fi access is essential). Use: This source will be used to show that the Wi-Fi on campus being spotty is a relevant issue that needs to be solved. This source will also help me prove that the Wi-Fi issue is not only relevant but also essential to the academic success of college students (also success of college students shows 90% of people surveyed by Wakefield Research agreed to this). Comcast Business. Limitless Knowledge Needs Technology That Can Keep Up. Enterprise Services for Education (2013) Web. 15 May 2013. Summary: This source is about how this particular internet service rises to meet the expectations of educational institutions that continually try to improve the quality and reach of education. It also addresses the challenges in the industry by providing various benefits such as a better cost, high performance networking, and more. Use: This source will be used as a solution to the spotty connection issue with the internet, this source provides information on what is said to be the best Wi-Fi for

educational institutions. With this information, an alternative to the ResNet Wi-Fi is offered by providing another option for our campus.