Duke upgrades campus cell service

By improving cell service on campus, Duke is raising the bar.

As more people have switched to smart phones over the past several years, Duke’s cellular coverage has strained to maintain voice calls and connections—prompting complaints from a number of students and faculty. In response, the Office of Information Technology is currently in the middle of an 18-month project to upgrade cellular networks on campus. The $14 million project involves building a new antennae system and is funded entirely by AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.

"We are excited to bring a sustainable, reliable, state of the art solution to the Duke community," said Bob Johnson, senior director of communications infrastructure and global strategies. "With a 95 percent coverage target of the campus coupled with 100 percent carrier material participation, this program is the first of its kind in the nation."

The upgrade began in Summer 2013, with the build-out of a new communications facility where cell phone carriers place their equipment to allow signal. Work on the facility was completed this August, and Duke has now begun installing new antennae equipment on campus. The new system will not only allow signal to be broadcast more directly to buildings, but also will cover a much larger area.

OIT is rolling out the new system building by building, with plans to install the new antennae equipment in more than 200 campus buildings. There are currently 24 buildings with the equipment installed and activated—already functioning for Verizon, with AT&T and Sprint scheduled to go online in mid-November. All residence halls are scheduled to have the equipment fully installed by the end of December, and the project should be fully completed by March 2015.

Individuals who have Verizon can notice a difference in service throughout campus—though some areas, particularly buildings which have not had the antennae equipment installed, remain problematic.

“My cell service can vary from no bars to five bars,” said freshman Lizzie Speed.

OIT has spread the word about the upgrades through flyers in affected buildings. But for some, the new antennae equipment has actually negatively affected cell service—such as Verizon user Eric Lakey, a junior who lives in Edens Quadrangle and said his service went from strong to barely functional after the boosters were added.

After reporting the change to OIT, however, service improved.

“The issue was resolved almost immediately," Lakey said. "The cell service is now excellent."

Johnson said that any users who believe they are seeing degraded service relative over the past month should report it to the OIT Service Desk.

Cell service complications are primarily due to lack of signal strength, Johnson said. Campus buildings new and old alike pose issues for signal—with the thick walls of Duke's traditional Gothic architecture making signal weak in some buildings, and sustainable LEED exteriors in newer structures blocking signal in others. The new antennae system, however, should resolve both issues.