Following the WiFi issues experienced by Lipasallians on campus, a resolution will require two months of work according to the Information Communications Technology Center (ICTC) in a town hall meeting with student leaders and representatives from the college and integrated school at the Mabini Building, March 6.
Jiggy Garrido from the ICTC said that the identified primary cause of WiFi connectivity was due to outdated hardware, prompting them a targeted effort to manage and modify it.
He emphasized that the root cause in this particular problem lies with the WiFi switches, where all connections converge.
”In this case mga seven years na po yung devices natin, so we are doing our best to make sure that we get it up immediately. The plan is there for us to fix it. But now for this specific problem is the switches,” Garrido said.
He further elaborated that the procurement process for hardware materials will begin in March, followed by implementation and testing in April, and expected live operations in May.
Although Garrido and his team had actively troubleshooted and fixed issues in previous months, a decision was made to shift focus towards resolving the root cause for a more long-lasting solution.
“Naaayos, nabibigyan ng solusyon, pero minsan kapag paulit-ulit na, we try to see ano ba yung root cause nito, and upon finding the root cause, kailangan talaga siya baguhin,” said Garrido.
Meanwhile, despite the ongoing WiFi challenges, Iezyl Torino, the Vice Chancellor for Academics (VCA), ensured the continuation of face-to-face classes while emphasizing the need for backup plans in case of issues when connecting to the WiFi.
Torino mentioned that backup plans for faculty members may vary, particularly concerning the use of Canvas, noting that there will be instances when the teachers will have to download the lecture materials before classes.
“So on the part of our faculty, what we can do is somehow have a backup plan. […] meaning to say if there will be some concerns in terms of access to the platforms, specifically Canvas, our faculty need to download the materials prior to the start of classes,” said Torino.
On the other hand, the college department will continue with pen-and-paper exams, while arrangements are being made with the ICTC to relocate classes to different rooms for those still requiring online examinations, ensuring access to the necessary WiFi connection.
Throughout the two-month resolution process, the campus WiFi will remain accessible but students could still encounter intermittent connection difficulties.
Article by Angel Faith Chavez
