FWIW, I think you make a good point. In practice, though, I’m not sure how effective it would be. Upgrades of campus lighting systems that include pathway changes are few and far between. If it takes 20 or 30 years to build out this network-friendly infrastructure, you run the risk that by the time it’s mature enough to use it may no longer be needed. It’s not the kind of plan I would implement on a knee-jerk basis. It definitely requires thoughtful design and a cost/benefit/risk analysis. I’m guessing outcomes will vary widely by institution, and maybe even by campus for a multi-campus institution.
From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Hector J Rios Sent: Friday, September 16, 2016 4:46 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Utility Poles But that is the point I’m trying to make. Because of all the challenges that you have all mentioned, wouldn’t it be worth to have both a strategic plan and a collaboration with whoever is in charge of bringing up NEW poles, and address all of these concerns and issues so that you end up with a pole that is aesthetically pleasing and at the same time functional. I understand the issues that need to be addressed with existing poles. My idea was more focused toward new construction. Our campus is constantly evolving and changing, and I believe we’ve had some missed opportunities. Regards, -H From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU] On Behalf Of Eric LaCroix Sent: Friday, September 16, 2016 3:24 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU <mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU> Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Utility Poles Even for lights not centrally switched (perhaps always-on, locally photocell-controlled) there’s also the issue of what kind of power is available at the poles. Our outdoor lights are 277 volt LED. At the very least, if you’re able to find a product to give you the power you need from that voltage, it’s probably going to be prohibitively expensive, and certainly not pretty on the pole. Your elegant lamp posts from the gaslight era will end up looking like those “tree” cell towers. Haha! Happy Friday. ________________________________________ Eric LaCroix, Director of Technology, New Hampton School 70 Main Street • New Hampton, NH 03256 On 9/16/16, 3:53 PM, "The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv on behalf of Watters, John" <WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU on behalf of john.watt...@ua.edu <mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU%20on%20behalf%20of%20john.watt...@ua.edu> > wrote: The main problem we have with doing this is getting a second power feed int= o the poles. All of our utilities are underground. And, all light poles are= decorative black things without any visible wires (it all comes in undergr= ound). To make it worse, all lights are on a central switch which means tha= t there is no power to the poles until the lights come on. Thus, the reason= for a separate power feed so wireless could run independently of the light= s. Also, light power typically loops into a pole and then back out to the n= ext pole in the run, thus filling up the access holes with twice as many wi= res as would be desired (by us anyway), and leaving little room to get anot= her power wire in (and also maybe back out) plus a small fiber cable.=20 Underground utilities look good but can cause problems with needing additio= nal wiring added for nice stuff such as you mentioned. John Watters Network Engineer, Office of Information Technology The University of Alabama A115 Gordon Palmer Hall Box 870346=20 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487=20 Phone 205-348-3992 john.watt...@ua.edu=20 <mailto:john.watt...@ua.edu=20> -----Original Message----- From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:WIREL= ess-...@listserv.educause.edu <mailto:ess-...@listserv.educause.edu> ] On Behalf Of Hector J Rios Sent: Friday, September 16, 2016 2:45 PM To: WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU <mailto:WIRELESS-LAN@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU> Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Utility Poles Has anyone on the list floated around the idea of establishing a standard t= o provide fiber and adequate power to light poles in your campus? How cool = would it be to have these resources available so they could be used not onl= y to serve WiFi, but a myriad of other things like security cameras, public= safety, digital signage, and the ton of promises that the IoT is promisin= g. I'm wondering if this is a cost effective thing to do? As a strategic pl= an, it seems to also make sense. I know all campuses are different. We are = just lucky that we own our poles, so we have no issues with obtaining permi= ssion. Thoughts? Hector Rios Louisiana State University ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Gr= oup discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
