A report from MarketingCharts found that
each college student now brings an average of seven mobile devices with them to
school, up from 6.4 just a year ago. That increase is making it tough for
campuses to keep up with the IT demands.
Just how tough was spelled out in the 2013 State of
ResNet Report from the Association of Information Communications Technology Professionals in
Higher Education and the National Association of College and University Business
Officers. The survey found that 84% of respondents felt tablet computers would
consume the most bandwidth in the coming years, with laptop and desktop
computers coming in second at 75%, followed by video systems, such as Blue-ray
players (64%), smartphones (63%), and video games (61%).
“There is an expectation right now among students of,
‘Any device, any time, as much as we want,’” Joe Harrington, director of
network services at Boston College, told eCampus News.
“This has [IT officials] back on their heels a little bit, looking for ways to
deal with this proactively rather than reactively.”
Nearly 80% of the 251 responding campuses allow
students to connect an unlimited number of devices, up from 68% in 2012, with
just 14% capping the number of connections at five devices or fewer. In
addition, 42% of the campuses allow residents to extend the network with the
use of hubs, servers, or routers.
The report also found that while most schools are
concerned with their long-term ability to provide bandwidth, few have plans to
address it anytime soon. In fact, 44% of respondents said they have no plans
for bandwidth growth.
