Poor internet connection at Brandon University has become an increasingly prevalent issue. Last year, BU students received several emails stating that the WiFi was down. These issues affected a wide spectrum of the BU community, from students striving to access online resources, to faculty members delivering lectures, and even administration staff endeavouring to manage various aspects of university operations. This persistent challenge not only disrupts academic activities but also hampers communication and collaboration essential for a thriving academic environment. Addressing this issue is paramount to ensuring optimal learning and working environments for all members of the Brandon University community. On November 22nd, 2023, I sat down with Melanie Sucha, the information officer at BU who oversees the library, archives, and IT services, along with Michael LeRoy, the coordinator of the network of operations who oversees the foundational pieces to access the internet such as infrastructure, networking, security, cable and more, to discover how internet support works at BU and how students can improve their connection.
Who is the network provider for BU?
Michael LeRoy clarified it's not as simple as home internet connection. BU uses service providers such as Bell MTS for on-campus fibre optics to reach Winnipeg. From there, branches of several service providers supply us with research network or commercial internet, or access to other universities.
There are two main components of connections, research network and commercial internet. Research network is a private network that flows throughout Canada and the world. Universities, research institutions or commercial enterprises have access. BU receives priority access to Microsoft Office 365 - our connection on campus is quicker than anywhere else, because we have direct access. We use commercial providers in Winnipeg dedicated to non-educational purposes. Our two connections range from 10 gigabits a second, the Winnipeg locations are around 400 gigabits a second, and commercial ones are 40 to 60.
Several students at BU experience problems with the Wi-Fi such as spotty internet, no internet connection at all. Are you aware that this problem exists? And if so, what steps are you taking for improvement?
IT Services are aware of the problems students face when connecting to the internet. IT Services continuously strive to improve; inquiries are logged, reviewed, and then investigated to make changes. We are working closely with certain faculty and students who experience spotty connection or being able to connect but the signal drops on optimizing placement of routers. Melanie Sucha stresses students struggling to onboard their devices to BU Wireless seek support at the Helpdesk. IT Services has a process for onboarding devices into the network securely, however it may not be the easiest process.
Most importantly, Melanie stated students should use BU Wireless rather than BU Guest, the reason being BU Wireless is a more robust and faster connection. Michael and Melanie are working to redevelop the device onboarding procedure, and improve security for faculty and students.