In this edition of the campus WiFi assessment update, Information Technology Solutions (ITS) is pleased to report that the initiative is progressing well.

In February, the ITS network operations and support staff, comprising three teams, completed their first walkthrough of 23 buildings on campus. This is in addition to the 12 buildings they covered in January (read the first progress report). Completing the walkthroughs is no simple task. Each member of the team clocked in approximately 84,912 steps in February alone. It also doesn’t stop there—to accurately map the network traffic patterns and signal density within these campus spaces, a second walkthrough is necessary.

Rogue Access Points Uncovered

Two months into the Campus WiFi Assessment Initiative, the ITS network operations and support staff discovered that there are hundreds of rogue access points (AP’s) around campus. In our campus environment, a “rogue access point" is any wireless transmitter connected to the UCR network without authorization from ITS. This includes personal routers brought from home or "WiFi direct" printers that broadcast their own wireless signals to allow wireless printing.

While these devices might seem convenient, they often cause significant radio frequency (RF) interference, acting like "noise" that drowns out the official campus WiFi. This leads to dropped connections, slower speeds, and security vulnerabilities for everyone in the building.

Addressing Issues Posed by Rogue Access Points

ITS will diligently work with UCR’s building and space coordinators and unit heads to identify and disable these standalone broadcasts. By doing so, we can ensure that airwaves remain clear for Highlanders to access high-quality, secure campus WiFi for their academic, administrative, and research use.

Questions? For more information on this initiative please contact ITS online at its.ucr.edu/help or via phone at 951-827-4848.