One of the problems that may be hindering the progress of outdoor WiFi updates is cost. The special access points that are required for outdoor use are very expensive and require special infrastructure upgrades. With the high cost in mind it’s obvious why outdoor WiFi hasn’t just popped up all at once. So naturally there must be a plan for for upgrades to happen over time. When considering which areas to upgrade first it seems to make sense that the highest traffic areas receive the priority.
By observation it becomes pretty obvious that there are a few major paths that students tend to take every day. Of course there are many other paths that students may take but the two major paths should take priority. The map below shows some of the proposed high traffic areas. The green areas already have outdoor wireless capabilities, the yellow areas are lower priority and the red areas are the high traffic areas.
The first high traffic area is all along SW Campus way on the north side of campus. This street is also known as Engineering Row as most of the College of Engineering lives along this street. But it is not just a major pathway for engineering students. Campus way runs nearly the entire length of campus (if not all of it). It is a long street with wide sidewalks and one of the best ways to get across campus.
The second high traffic area is along SW Jefferson Way. Like Campus way Jefferson way runs the entire length of campus. There are many residence halls on Jefferson way which also make it one of the primary routes across campus. The Memorial Union and the Valley Library are also on Jefferson way which makes it a popular travel route for those destinations.
There are also two short stretches that connect the two previous streets together in the campus core. These streets are SW 26th street and SW Waldo place.
The two primary paths are very long and would require a lot of work to fully cover. To compensate for this it may be necessary to start with smaller sections of those streets. Starting with the sections more in the core of campus would likely be the best action. The sections between SW 26th and SW 14th/15th would likely be the best sections to begin with.
