INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Telecommunications Improvement Project to Begin This Summer

After the completion of the telecommunications improvement project in a little more than two years, faculty will no longer need to wonder if there is a live network connection in a classroom. The new infrastructure will provide classrooms with technology outlets for telephone and data or video. Staff and faculty office moves will be made simpler with state-of-the-art outlets for voice and data, and networking in most locations will be as much as 20 times faster. Telecommunications closets will be improved, and underground duct banks between buildings will upgrade the aging and impacted underground cable plant.

The Telecommunications Infrastructure Initiative is the CSU capital outlay project that will bring these improvements to CSU, Chico. Phase one of “this necessary project, costing more than $18 million, is the largest technology project the campus has seen, and it will mean considerable disruption of our campus,” explained Beverly Thornton, director of Communications Services. Construction will start in July or August and last 18 to 20 months.

The campus network makes it possible for phones and voice mail to function, and for computers to connect to the Internet, send e-mail, access a server, check the library catalog, or print to a shared printer. Infrastructure needs grow dramatically as required speed and capacity increase, and as more mediated classrooms, offices, and laboratories are added. As the second oldest campus in the CSU system, with many buildings built before the computer age, there are inadequate pathways to buildings, asbestos in walls and ceilings, and cramped telecommunications rooms that make expansion and upgrading difficult.

In the first two months, some lawns and pathways will be blocked during underground trenching to build duct banks for networking cables. The next stage will be to provide the standards-based cabling, wiring, and outlets in every classroom, computer laboratory, and office.

“Most work within buildings will occur during night shifts to minimize disruptions, but we know that things will be difficult and messy for a while,” said Thornton. “People may have to deal with obstacles on campus, get used to dust and noise, and live with disruptions to their office environments while this work is going on.” Notice of expected construction will be given to occupants of a building, and academic needs will be considered. The actual construction schedule will be established once a construction contract is awarded.

Contact Thornton at x4616 for technology information, or Dan Takasugi, director of capital projects, x6231, for project and construction status.

Vicky Breeden, Information Resources