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Kent State will be completely wireless by next fall.

Michael Schwartz Center and Cartwright Hall were the last two academic buildings to receive full wireless coverage. All residence halls will be getting wireless Internet, said Tom Beitl, manager of network and telecom services.

Allerton apartments are not included, as they will be closing, and some buildings may not have full coverage because of the way they’re designed, Beitl said. For example, the swimming pool in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center doesn’t need wireless, he said.

In years past, students were disappointed that the residence halls didn’t have wireless, said George Edmiston, business analyst for residence services.

“Everybody just expects that if they walk into a building, wireless will be there,” Beitl said.

Residence Services had to put in requests for wireless and now it will be available in most residence halls.

“We’re very excited to be able to provide this service for our students,” Edmiston said. “Now students will be able to use their laptops without cords anywhere on campus.”

Most residence halls did not previously have wireless because Residence Services did not have a plan for funding the project.

“The price was a major factor,” Edmiston said. “There are major costs related to this kind of proposition.”

Plans to expand the wireless service on campus were introduced more than 18 months ago, but it takes a while to get things done with the funding and approval process, Beitl said. The last two academic buildings skipped this process to get the wireless installations done faster, he added.

The new wireless uses technology that allows it to run faster than the Internet in current locations on campus, Beitl said. Plans to upgrade the network to the fastest technology are being drawn up.

Paul Albert, executive director of Information Services, said they are working to install wireless by next fall so students can use it when they arrive on campus.

“We wanted to do it during the summer so students weren’t interrupted, and we didn’t want strangers walking around the dorms,” Beitl said. “By the time we get done, we’ll basically be able to say that the Kent campus, for all intensive purposes, is wireless.”

Contact Sidney Keith at [email protected].