American University to roll out wireless system

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By Juan Carlos Perez

(IDG) -- American University in Washington will roll out a campuswide wireless system designed to give students, faculty and employees wireless access to university data.

The system is designed to improve voice and data communications at the university and reduce the use of traditional phones on campus, American University said last week in a statement. It's expected to be ready in time for the fall semester.

Using wireless devices such as cell phones, personal digital assistants and notebook computers, students, teachers and university staff will be able to, among other things, connect to the Internet, send and receive e-mail messages, and access Web-based university information such as class schedules.

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The system will also allow university officials to push out university-related information to users, such as alerts about class cancellations and information about campus events. The system has been designed to provide wireless connectivity to users who are indoors or outdoors, the university said.

IT services provider KPMG Consulting Inc. in McLean, Virginia, is in charge of implementing the system, the university said. It carried out a two-month trial of the system in its business school and one residence hall.

In the current academic year, American University has 5,501 undergraduate students, 3,161 graduate students and 1,532 students in its law school, as well as a full-time faculty of 566, according to the university's Web site.