CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR EFFICIENT 802.11 A/B/G/N WIRELESS NETWORKS INFRASTRUCTURE TO IMPROVE CAMPUS INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

Abstract

Provision of internet service on university campuses has become essential and critical drivers to the progress and success of contemporary universities. Despite this intriguing technological advancement, universities are finding it challenging to provide the required quality of internet services to meet the high expectation of users on campus. Proper infrastructure, inadequate bandwidth, and effectiveness of internet service delivery achieve an optimal balance between available internet resources and the demands placed on internet resources. This paper set out to find out the state of internet infrastructures in the selected universities in Sunyani metropolis in Ghana. This paper conducted three significant investigations. A survey on user perception was conducted to ascertain the quality of user experience. A physical examination was also conducted. A wireless network analytical tool was deployed to examine the quality of 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless signal on the campuses of the selected university campuses.  The results of the three investigations revealed a poor wireless network at the university campuses. The paper proposed a conceptual framework to improve the network infrastructure on university campuses. Motivation/Background: This study was motivated by the number of studies in literature concerning the access, usage, and quality of internet service in Africa. The study was designed to examine the quality internet service and the quality of experience (QoE) of internet user in three universities in the Sunyani metropolis in relation to access, availability and quality of internet. Method: An in SSIDer wireless signal analytics tool was used to examine the quality of signal strength on the selected University campuses. The tool has the ability to measure certain essential indicators used to determine the quality of signal strength, bandwidth, frequency and can report whether the signal is secure or insecure. The test was carried at several locations on the campuses at different times. The result of the test and simulation by the in SSIDer tool, the signal strength at the campuses indicated a weaker signal in all three campuses. Results: The results obtained from the test conducted at the three University campuses revealed that the wireless signals propagated at the university campuses were very poor. Conclusions: A conceptual framework has been designed to help reduce the signal attenuations significantly.