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New Residence Hall Showcases Innovations in Communications Technology

Network in Bell Tower gives students wireless internet access

Starting this month, first-year students living in Duke University's newest residence hall will be able to access course content, news stories, video entertainment and other forms of communications via a state-of-the-art wireless network.

The university is teaming with Cisco Systems to give students in the new Bell Tower residence hall on East Campus free wireless access so they can watch one of four cable TV channels -- including CNN and MTV-U -- anywhere in the building, as well as access the Internet, email and other applications from their laptops.

Duke developed Bell Tower's Internet technology in anticipation of an expected universal shift in the communications industry over the next few years from wired to wireless voice, data and video delivery, said Kevin Miller, network architect with Duke's Network Technologies group. The residence hall will use Cisco wireless controllers, access points and software.

"What we're envisioning now is developing a set of services that students, faculty and staff are asking for and that we can deliver efficiently," Miller said. "Bell Tower will serve as a blueprint for how to develop an infrastructure at Duke to support growth in emerging digital data, audio and video applications in new and existing buildings on campus."

The wireless system in Bell Tower will transmit at more than five times the speed of a typical 10Mb-per-second wired network connection. Providing one wireless access point for every two student rooms was a challenge for the Duke and Cisco engineers designing the system -- one they overcame. Duke's other residence halls only have wireless coverage in common areas, such as student lounges.

The Bell Tower pilot is part of the university's goal to provide a wireless network across campus to support individual mobile computing needs and the Duke Digital Initiative, the successor to the 2004-05 Duke iPod First-Year Experience.

"Today's new students have grown up in an all-digital world where mobility and multitasking are routine and expected parts of life," said Tracy Futhey, Duke's vice president for information technology. "Our goal is to provide both the infrastructure and the support to our faculty and students that make it possible to use technology in innovative ways throughout all aspects of life at Duke."

Added Alan Cohen, senior director of marketing for Cisco's Wireless Networking Business Unit, "Cisco and Duke are now giving the class of 2009 a wireless 'triple-play' -- voice, video and data -- helping them to integrate mobility both into their education and lifestyle."