Cell phone coverage improved at Duke
Nov. 10, 2008
They can hear you now.
Duke’s cellular phone users will see improved coverage in key campus areas this fall, including the Duke Chapel area, most of West Campus and the residence halls in East Campus.
“I notice the difference in my dorm room on East Campus,” said Trent Salazar, a Duke student who uses Verizon. “I don’t drop calls anymore.”
The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has installed a new outdoor antenna system and continues to work with Duke’s preferred vendors – Verizon, Alltel and AT&T – to improve reception based on testing and user feedback. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to report a gap in coverage by calling the Telecom Help Desk at 684-2200 (Option 2, then Option 1).
“Our goal is nearly complete coverage – 95 percent coverage, 95 percent of the time,” said Bob Johnson, senior director for communications infrastructure. “This is increasingly important for regular cellular customers, and it also strengthens the university’s communications infrastructure for emergency communications, which use text messaging.”
Verizon and Alltel users should already notice improved cell coverage on campus.
AT&T users at Duke will see enhanced coverage in the next few weeks, as OIT works with AT&T to fine-tune its systems.
“Once OIT has identified areas that continue to have poor cell coverage, such as basements, we can troubleshoot those areas specifically,” said John Robinson, senior manager.
The new distributed antennae system (DAS) broadcasts cellular signals more directly to campus buildings and covers a much larger area than in-building hardware. Since only five sets of hardware cover almost all of campus, the system also should be easier to maintain, Robinson said.