A Rogers cell antenna is being installed on the roof of E building with the goal of improving cell service on the Abbotsford campus. Agreements are in place to install additional antennas using other telecommunications providers.
The Rogers antenna is expected to go live before September, along with a Freedom Mobile antenna that is being installed on the roof of D building. Following the agreement with Rogers, an agreement with Telus was reached; the contract for the Telus antenna is currently in the permit stage, and installation will begin soon, on the roof of B building.
“We expect that the service improvement should be very noticeable for users of all three providers for the entire campus, as well as the surrounding area,” Darin Lee, chief information officer at UFV, said over email. “I’m also very excited that both Rogers and Freedom Mobile have committed to installing in-building solutions to boost connectivity if the need is identified once the external system is functioning.”
There is also a signed agreement with Freedom Mobile and Rogers to build a cell tower on the Chilliwack campus, although there is not yet a start date attached.
“Around five years ago students started complaining that cellular coverage on the Abbotsford campus was quite poor and seemed to be getting worse,” Lee said. “This was compounded when the Student Union Building was constructed out of concrete and glass, and of course gets almost no service inside.”
The IT services department hired a contractor to review cellular coverage on Abbotsford campus and make recommendations for locations of additional antennas to maximize cell service. The university used the report findings to discuss service improvements with Rogers and Telus.
“It took us about two years of consistent effort before we started to gain some traction, finally signing an agreement with Rogers last summer,” Lee said.
“This has been a challenging process, but we felt it was important to have high levels of service for students from a functional perspective, but also looking at the safety of those on campus at night and weekends, it’s critical to have connectivity everywhere.”
