The Hindu : 'Wired' campuses on the way

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Sunday, Nov 30, 2003

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'Wired' campuses on the way

By Anand Parthasarathy

BANGALORE NOV. 29. Indian academic campuses seem to be in a race to bring wireless Internet connectivity to their students and teachers. And the first to declare themselves "wireless-enabled" may not be the `usual suspects' — the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).

In Karnataka, the first university to take concrete steps to deploy wireless LAN technology is the Visveswariah Technological University, Belgaum. A 1000-node network for the five postgraduate departments, two regional offices, administrative block, library, auditorium and hostels, is being put into place by HCL Comnet. The wireless net, based on the 802.11b standard, will provide 11-megabits per second broadband connectivity with 128-bit security features, the Vice-Chancellor, K. Balveera Reddy, announced on Thursday.

In Tamil Nadu, the Vellore Institute of Technology, a deemed university, is actively working on a scheme to wirelessly network the entire campus and also to enable students to acquire notebook computers through an instalment scheme, the Pro-Chancellor, G.V. Selvam, told this correspondent.

Other early `wireless movers and shakers' include the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, who are putting WiFi networks in place. In the Maharashtra capital, the Mumbai Educational Trust in Bandra, has already implemented limited wireless connectivity and will soon see 800 students access the Net from laptop computers.

A wireless campus for the Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management — Kerala (IIITM-K) at TechnoPark, Thiruvananthapuram — is also on the cards.

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