U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. -- An optional fee-for-service commercial wireless network provider launched Aug. 11 and is now available in all cadet facilities and the Air Force Academy Preparatory School.
Cadets who choose to use this service will be able to connect and install external hardware, equipment and programs, and access a variety of online media.
The change will drastically expand the bandwidth of the Academy’s overwhelmed LAN by moving live streaming and most personal capabilities from that network, said Dr. Andy Laffely, the Academy’s dean of educational technology.
“This should increase the network bandwidth available for mission-essential activities," Laffley said.
Cadets will have 30 days to make the transition to use the .edu network for homework and the commercial network for down time, said Col. Dale Holland, vice commandant of cadets.
“The current state of our [LAN] makes it impossible to meet our educational mission requirements and cyber security compliance,” said Lt. Col. Susana Markin, the Academy’s chief information officer and director of communications and information. “The cadet wireless solution is one of several major internet technology initiatives the Academy is aggressively pursuing to transform IT into an enabling capability of our core mission to develop the next generation of Air Force leaders.”
(Staff Sgt. Veronica Ward, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs, contributed to this article)