Changes to campus Wi-Fi, led by Dartmouth Information, Technology and Consulting, is making connection faster and more secure, according to an email statement from College chief technology officer Felix Windt.
According to student body vice president Kiara Ortiz ’24, the project follows Dartmouth Student Government advocacy, which responded to student complaints of slow Wi-Fi.
Faster connection is part of a Wi-Fi upgrade that started in 2019, according to Windt. To continue to use the Eduroam network, students have to download an application from ITC that will create an encrypted Wi-Fi certificate for each of their devices before July 1, according to Windt. DSG sent out an email to campus with the download on April 18.
The security update responds to phishing attacks that have threatened Dartmouth online resources, Windt wrote.
“When someone steals your password, for example through phishing, they are able to access the internal Dartmouth network and gain access to all resources available to our community,” he wrote. “[The new system] keeps out attackers that have somehow managed to gain access to your password.”
School House senator and member of the DSG Subcommittee on Technology Alejandra Carrasco Alayo ’25 said DSG used their student issue survey to gather feedback on Wi-Fi connection. They then gave the results — which demonstrated student discontentment — to ITC, she added.
In recent years, ITC has made other changes intended to improve student Wi-Fi. In December 2022, for example, ITC installed Wi-Fi on the Green, according to past reporting from The Dartmouth.
“The goal is eventually to have not only this comprehensive access and fast access in spaces where many of us study indoors [such as] our dorms and academic buildings but also outdoor spaces so people can be going to class or sitting on a bench and enjoy these fast speeds,” student body president Jessica Chiriboga ’24 said.
Ashton Bange ’27 said higher network speeds on the Green will be vital to studying outside in the spring.
“I know, especially in the springtime, [that] everybody loves to go to the Green and study, but it’s hard to do so when you can’t load anything,” Bange said. “I think [it’s] a good plan.”
Chayse Raymond ’27, who currently lives in French Hall in the River cluster, said her Wi-Fi connection in her dorm is “very in and out sometimes.”
“I think if they can [increase speeds], it would be super helpful, especially in places like the River where Wi-Fi is kind of spotty and cellular is also not too hot,” Raymond said.
Allen House senator Matthew Kim ’25, who is also a member of the DSG Subcommittee on Technology, encouraged students to reach out to DSG and ITC if they have problems with their technology.
“[The ITC is] always looking for more avenues to access student opinions and see how students are liking it, which is why we’ve developed a good relationship with them as student government,” Kim said. “Hopefully through this change, Wi-Fi will be improved and we can move along to other technology issues on campus.”
