Dartmouth College, the first Ivy League institution to become fully wired and fully wireless, looks to continue its tradition of leadership in the realm of technology as IT professionals from higher education and industry gather in Hanover over the next few days to discuss wireless technology and its use on campuses nationwide.
The event, titled "Unleashed: The Summit on Wireless and Mobile Computing" and sponsored by computing giants Cisco Systems and Intel, will take place at locations throughout campus beginning today and running through Friday.
The Summit promises to bring together members of academia, the industry and the public sector to share ideas, questions, and information on the issues surrounding wireless computing and the future uses of mobile computing, as well as ways to streamline and secure existing networks.
"Unleashed will be a great step forward towards proving the power of a ubiquitous wireless environment. My hope is we can show that wireless has matured to become a valuable asset for the entire campus or enterprise," Director of Computing Technical Services Brad Noblet said.
The featured keynote speaker is Reed E. Hundt, a senior advisor on information industries at worldwide management consulting firm McKinsey & Co., and a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997. In that position, Hundt helped to negotiate the World Trade Organization Telecommunication Agreement.
Events will focus on usage research, addressing the pressing questions of when and where the network carries the heaviest traffic, what applications are most commonly used, and, specific to increased use of wireless internet connections, how often people move around while using the network.
While wireless networks have experienced rapid growth in recent years, the security issues facing them, unique from land-based computing networks, have yet to be fully addressed.
At present, industry and academia do not have a standard for wireless security protocols. In large places where many people are constantly signing on and off of a local wireless network, such as here at Dartmouth, the authentication information needed to access that network is more easily accessible to hackers.
