[PNU-WIFI] PNU Promised to Improve Wi-Fi Quality

The Office of Information Technology and Services, which oversees PNU-WiFi at Pusan National University (PNU), has promised to actively address frequent Wi-Fi errors and speed issues.

The office plans to enhance “monitoring” of buildings with high user density and gradually “replace” access point (AP) devices with the latest models (WiFi6) to improve the low satisfaction levels among campus members (reported by “Channel PNU” on November 8th). This plan was confirmed during an October 28th interview with Kim Jong-Deok (Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, PNU), who heads the IT department, along with a working group.

The office explained that it’s technically challenging to predict the number of simultaneous connections per AP, and budget constraints limit the expansion of AP installations. Wi-Fi usage on campus varies significantly, with reported totals of 6.7TB/11,639 devices (April 23rd), 11.0TB/18,597 devices (May 28th), and 4.1TB/4,037 devices (July 30th), depending on date and time. An official stated, “Simply expanding AP installations would require an enormous budget. Given that wireless Wi-Fi doesn’t operate at fixed standards like wired connections, a detailed analysis is necessary to address various disruptions that arise depending on environmental and device conditions.”

As a result, the self Wi-Fi monitoring will focus on high-density user facilities, prioritizing stability in learning spaces like lecture rooms, laboratories, and study rooms. As of October 30th, PNU had 2,468 AP devices across 107 buildings. The office representative said, “We will strengthen monitoring and review Wi-Fi issues in response to complaints, adjusting AP locations or replacing devices as needed to enhance the network environment.”

In particular, AP devices in areas with ongoing disconnection will be upgraded to the latest models. The representative explained, “Currently, most lecture rooms have a mix of older (WiFi4, WiFi5) and newer AP devices, which is the primary cause of disconnection issues during usage.” The department plans to assign APs of the same version within buildings, expand the speed capacity of older APs, or replace them with newer ones to address roaming and speed issues between devices.

However, delays in data transmission over Wi-Fi involve various factors such as connection speed, signal strength, connectivity, and surrounding environment, so full resolution may take time. The office noted, “It may take time to assess every network due to the numerous variables involved, but we aim to ensure a stable Wi-Fi environment capable of at least 5Mbps (megabits per second) based on video streaming.”

Reported Jeong Su-Vin

Translated by Seo Yoo-Jung