Northern Michigan University get campus-wide WiMAX

Northern Michigan University was one of the first campuses to offer campus-wide WiFi to its students, now they are setting up a campus-wide WiMAX network

Northern Michigan University (NMU), with help from Motorola, is establishing the United States' first campus-wide WiMAX network. Engadget reports three thousand NMU students will receive Lenovo ThinkPad computers with built-in WiMAX/WiFi Intel cards. In addition, laptop and desktop WiMAX adapters will be provided for students who have non WiMAX-enabled computers. The network covers a 30 mile radius and includes some off-campus sites. The network will also be available to local schools and municipal offices though a licensing arrangement. "Over the past few years, with WiFi hot spots, NMU covered about 10 percent of the City of Marquette. WiMAX allows us to cover nearly 100 percent” said Gavin Leach, NMU vice president for finance and administration. “This makes us one of the first universities in the United States to be able to provide wireless access to nearly our entire student population. This would not have been possible without the efforts of our technology industry partners; they helped to make this fourth-generation technology a reality in our community.” The NMU media release says NMU’s license is restricted to education or government use and NMU isdiscussing with some area K-12 schools the possibility of assisting in enhancing their wireless capabilities. “As a leading ThinkPad University, Northern Michigan University and Lenovo have partnered for 10 years to equip students with the latest high performance ThinkPad laptops to help them excel in the classroom and prepare for life beyond school,” said Tom Looney, vice president and general manager, Lenovo North America. “The new WiMAX network will allow students to connect wirelessly on campus and off using their ThinkPad laptops, which are optimized for an excellent wireless computing experience.”