AirBears

AirBears

Current Deployment of AirBears

As of March 16, 2012, there are 1612 total access points installed and operational at UC Berkeley. These access points conform to the 581 IEEE-802.11n draft 2.0 standard with a maximum transmission rate of 300Mb.

We are continuing the deployment of AirBears—aiming to provide coverage in all areas inside campus buildings. We are continuing this deployment by installing devices that will utilize IEEE-802.11a/g/n. This will make it possible for users to continue to use their existing devices or to upgrade to the latest technology.  

AT&T Wi-Fi Project

We have embarked on a joint project with AT&T that will enable us to provide nearly 100% full wi-fi coverage inside campus buildings, with AirBears running alongside the AT&T SSID (attwifi). The project will also allow us to extend the 'attwifi' SSID to the student residence halls. Anyone with a smart phone, laptop, or mobile device that is enabled for wi-fi will be able to use the AT&T wi-fi service. Users with an AT&T data plan will be able to connect automatically, while others will have the option to purchase blocks of time on the AT&T service. 

*Note: The maximum transmission rate is the representation of the speed data can flow in a single direction over the wireless devices.  IEEE-802.11 devices utilize a shared medium, resulting in a half-duplex operation.  The actual data rates for end-to-end communication will vary based on the number of users, the quality of the radio signal, and the overall amount of data being passed over the wireless medium.  Typical end-to-end data rates are near 10Mb for the 54Mb rates and 65Mb for the 300Mb rates.

To read about the history of AirBears, click here.