If you have trouble connecting with the Wi-Fi on the Fresno City College campus, you are not alone.

According to Nathan Zierfuss-Hubbard, director of Technology Support Services (TSS), the campus Wi-Fi is slow because of old connectivity equipment and a large student population.  The good news is that Zierfuss-Hubbard’s office is working hard to fix it.

TSS will acquire new funding for new equipment for the Wi-Fi and will start the work to improve Wi-Fi connectivity on campus, starting in the fall 2019 semester.

“The existing Wi-Fi has been here about seven years,” Zierfuss-Hubbard said. “The equipment has aged, so has infrastructure that supports it, and the internet connection is also older.”  

The cables that provide connectivity to the access point are also over a decade old, and some of the buildings are old which makes it hard for the Wi-Fi signal to connect, said John Bengtson, the interim director of TSS from whom Zierfuss-Hubbard is taking over.

Zierfuss-Hubbard said TSS staff will hire someone to diagnose what the issue is; when signals are strong in certain areas, and the locations on campus where the Wi-Fi signal is weakest.  He also explained that when two access points overlap, the Wi-Fi is slower.

According to Zierfuss-Hubbard, anywhere with a Wi-Fi signal on the FCC campus has 200 access points, but TSS will add more access points in areas with dense groups of students and faculty and where complaints about weak Wi-Fi reception are more prevalent.

“I have heard from other staff that the student lounge and cafeteria connectivity become problematic when there is a lot of students during break time,” Zierfuss-Hubbard said. TSS is going to survey the faculty to determine the main problems they experience with access.  

Students can meanwhile try to access the Wi-Fi in different locations without too many people. According to Zierfuss-Hubbard, when 20 or more people are using the Wi-Fi, it will slow down.