Hundreds of GW students who connect to the Internet with Ricochet wireless modems have had difficulties with their connections recently, but a company representative said help is in the works.
Field Engineer Erik Moon of service provider Metricom said many students who use the wireless modems are waiting longer than usual for Internet connections. In some cases, students have completely lost Internet access. The problems stem from an unexpected increase in users on campus, he said.
More than 600 GW students currently use the wireless modems – twice the number of students who subscribed last year. GW is Ricochet’s “largest single university customer,” Moon said.
With the modems, students can access the GWUNet, which permits e-mail and Netscape Internet access. However, students cannot dial into other services like American Online or Compuserve.
Currently, two wired access points – or base stations – are on campus. The base stations are located in the basement of Thurston Hall and on the roof of Gelman Library.
The access points on campus were originally designed to provide services to an expected 200 subscribers in buildings that are not otherwise connected to the Internet.
Since the service is no longer restricted to unwired buildings like Thurston Hall, users are fighting for bandwidth with residence hall connections and are not getting through, a Metricom technical support representative said.
Two more wired access points are included in the company’s current plan to facilitate better connections, but the logistics of the project are complex. Before more wired access points can be installed on campus, the company must obtain construction permits and University permission. While the process has been in the works for months, it will be a few more weeks before the plans can be finalized, Moon explained.
Moon advised students to avoid connecting during heavy traffic times like early morning, lunchtime and evening. He said students who have lost access completely should contact Ricochet Technical Support (1-800-543-0721) or GW’s Colonial Computers about possible individual solutions to the connection problem, he said.
