Hanscom Dorm Residents Receive Wireless Internet Access

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Geoff Buteau
  • 66th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  Residents of the Hanscom dorms received access to wireless high-speed Internet on March 21 as a result of a workplace initiative by the Communication and Information Division here and suggestions by dorm residents and senior enlisted leadership.

With many Airmen pursuing advanced degrees - most of them online - the six computers with Internet access available to residents were often occupied, making it difficult for other Airmen to log on as often as they needed, especially during the academic final examination weeks, said Airman 1st Class Carlos Carlo, the Hanscom dormitory president.

The common-access computers also didn't allow for privacy or flexibility, which was a quality-of-life enhancement that Chief Master Sgt. Lisa Sirois, then Command Chief Master Sergeant for the 66th Air Base Wing, wanted to begin before she left for her deployment late last year, said Airman Carlo.

Airman Carlo heeded his own observations, fellow dorm residents' proposals, and ideas from senior enlisted channels like the Patriot Enlisted Association and Chief Sirois, and investigated the possibility of dormitory wireless Internet access. He looked to Joseph Boeggeman, Technical Advisor, 66th Air Base Wing Communication and Information Division.

Since the project didn't fall under the mission of the communication and information division, Mr. Boeggeman couldn't dedicate formal resources to it. But, "We felt we could do it in our spare time," he said.

"These Airmen work hard and this was our way to take care of them," he said of the "lunch-hour" project he and his team launched.

Airman Carlo and Mr. Boeggeman spoke in late 2007 about what it would take to provide the residents with wireless Internet access. WiFi (Wireless Fidelity, IEEE 802.11b wireless networking) isn't generally made to operate through walls, and the thickness of the dorm walls doesn't make it any easier, Mr. Boeggeman said.

"He had the same idea as I did, which was to put access points at the end of the hallway at every floor," said Airman Carlo. His experience with individual in-room wireless Internet setups taught him the signal didn't go much further than the room's walls. Even cell-phone service is limited in the building, so he knew there would have to be multiple access points to provide the internet to all the residents.

So Mr. Boeggeman and his team installed access points on the east and west sides of each floor, to make the signal accessible by all residents. The access points are powered by a centrally located power switch with the modem housed in the same place.

The current Internet is unfettered, Mr. Boeggeman said, just as if someone off base purchased their access from a local Internet service provider. "In the next phases of implementation, we'll be instituting a minimum information assurance footprint on the dormitory Internet usage."

As for performance thus far, Airman Carlo reports that the bandwidth is great, meaning he and his fellow residents are able to surf and download at much faster speeds than they're used to. He does acknowledge the dorm infrastructure still makes it challenging to make the initial wireless connection - even with the access points.

The dormitory is the second wireless network that was set up on base. The first was the Hanscom Education Center, which was set up in June of 2007. Both will eventually be part of the Hanscom General Purpose Network (HGPN), along with the wired Internet access Airman and Family Readiness Center