Wireless Internet enhances Baptist College of Florida

BCF photo

BCF students, from left, Noah Raulderson and Berkelee Lovell take a break between classes under the gazebo to check their e-mail thanks to the new campus wide Wireless Net.

GRACEVILLE (BCF)—Whether sitting under the gazebo or out by the lake, in the dining hall with friends, taking notes in a classroom, or studying in a dorm room, Baptist College of Florida students can be seen all over campus with their laptops in tow and a smile on their faces.

Thanks to the new Wireless Net recently implemented on the Graceville campus, students can now access the Internet from anywhere on campus, making both study and play a little more convenient.

Wireless Net is the new campus- wide wireless Internet service at BCF and is an expansion of the wireless test project, Unwired.

Unwired was implemented 18 months ago providing service to a limited area on campus to test the feasibility of the service by the student population. The test project quickly proved to be a success with students soon asking for additional areas of coverage.

The expanded coverage under the Wireless Net was made available during the Fall 2004 semester and has since provided service to the entire BCF campus. Wireless Net offers all the services of traditional wired Internet access with the addition of content filtering.

Users need only a special wireless network adapter for a notebook, desktop, or handheld computer and an assigned PIN from BCF to have internet access without the restraints of traditional cabling. Wireless users can travel throughout the coverage zones and remain connected to the network.

“The convenience of getting on the Internet anywhere is great,” explains BCF junior theology major Tim Flowers. “I use it in between classes with my laptop to do things like check grades, work on homework and see my class syllabus online. And of course, check e-mail.”

Coverage is currently available in all four residence halls, married housing, all buildings on the main campus and at the college’s Heritage Village. The service is presently offered to registered BCF students, alumni, faculty and staff.

“We are extremely pleased to offer this expanded wireless service on our campus,” explained BCF’s Management Information Services Director Cathy Williams.

“High speed Internet access, where it is available today, is still rather expensive when purchased by the individual consumer,” she continued. “The Wireless Net on the Graceville campus gives our users the benefit of high-speed access to the Internet.”

The Wireless Net is powered by hardware from Citynet of Panama City.