Helping to support critical university infrastructure, Enterprise Technology & Services (ET&S) maintained a presence on the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) campuses throughout the COVID-19 shutdown.
From mid-March, five team members worked on projects that allowed them to follow social distancing and safety guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control.
Parking Lot Wi-Fi
ET&S installed wi-fi hotspots in parking lots on USNH campuses including Granite State College, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, UNH Durham, UNH Law, UNH Manchester and the system office in Concord.
All USNH institutions’ students, faculty and staff could access these hotspots through the Eduroam network,a secure wireless network used by educational institutions worldwide. The hotspots remained active throughout the spring semester in the parking lots listed here.
Hospital Overflow Site
On April 1, ET&S worked with local hospitals to set up an overflow site for the COVID-19 outbreak. The site accommodated 250 people at the Hamel Recreation Center. ET&S activated onsite printers and fax machines, installed 20 telephones, and set up a wireless network for medical staff and hospital occupants.
Residence Hall Wi-Fi Upgrade
Most UNH students left campus shortly after spring break ended, which presented an opportunity to complete a planned wireless upgrade in residence halls. ET&S started this work on April 6, and while the original plan called for teams of two, this was modified so workers could comply with social distancing standards. Team members were able to stay safe, working in separate buildings and vehicles.
This plan was proposed and approved by UNH and allowed technicians to operate as essential personnel during the stay-at-home order. All told, ET&S installed more than 2,500 new wireless access points and completed the upgrade in all residence halls and several academic buildings.
Remote Working Support
In late March, most UNH faculty and staff were sent home to work. To assist with communications, ET&S activated the Avaya EC500 — a feature that allows office phones to be routed to cell phones — for 233 users. It also made adjustments to numerous call centers to allow users to receive calls remotely.
