AFA wifi service?

So USAFA does have civilian wifi that cadets are free to pay for monthly. ... it costs closer to $30/month or $50/month depending on the plan and speed you want.

While I don't object to the cadets having to pay extra for non-academic WIFI, I do consider the costs to be high. My impression is that USAFA has contracted this service out to BOINGO and I have some concerns that there is the potential for BOINGO to be gouging the cadets.

I have two other children at universities at this time. One of them has the WIFI built into their room and board costs. The other has free basic WIFI at 30mb/sec and a fee for higher speed service. That fee is only $90 per academic for 100mb/sec symmetric WIFI. That service is being provided by a private for profit company, so I believe they are making a profit on their $90 per year fee. I hope someone at USAFA is monitoring the BOINGO contract fees and shopping for more competitive solutions including squadrons rolling their own.
 
Wow I remember fighting the good fight trying to get wifi in the dorms back in the day.
"...back in the day..."

Hmm...seems like I remember "back in the day" when we lined up to fight over the IBM card reader in the computer lab...

And then there were those pesky lights in the hallway that cryptically explained what the uniform of the day was...

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
CS-39 IM Velociraptor Rider
 
DH says it hasn't been the same since '79, mighty fine...LCWB:D
 
DH says it hasn't been the same since '79, mighty fine...LCWB:D
Yeah, they pretty much ruined it for all of us. :D
(I can say that...two pseudo-brothers in '79; we sponsored them all four years...one lost his car because his Texas license plate said 79 LCWB and the comm said the plate goes or the keys stay here...)

Steve
USAFA ALO
USAFA '83
 
Yeah, DH said his class' motto was never considered PC.

But, I married him despite that
 
Let's see here: PURDUE
Indiana Resident Pays: $20,000 for Tuition/Room Board
Out of state Resident Pays: $38,000 for Tuition/Room Board

AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Residency Irrelevant: FREE Tuition/Room Board, Medical,
Cadet gets PAID Approximately $1,000 per month. (Some initially taken out for certain expenses, but there's still a NET PAY each month)

Considering I don't know of ANY OTHER "Non-Military" school that PAYS YOU to "ATTEND"........ I don't see a problem with $10-$20 a month for a student to pay for (PERSONAL) internet service.

Well....actually... before my son was notified of his appointment he accepted an ROTC scholarship ( type 1) to Syracuse University. One of the few schools that covers room and board with his scholarship. He also had a $20,000 academic scholarship so....he would have tuition, fees, books covered by ROTC plus a monthly stipend given to him and they would cover room and board ( approx $15,000) . Because of his academic scholarship being greater than room and board he would get to keep the difference. Yup...they would PAY HIM approx $5,000 to attend. Every year. ( of course as room and board goes up, that payment would go down a bit) and they also informed me that if he chose off campus housing.....it would not change a thing-he would still get the money. I don't mind him paying for internet or other incidentals. Its a small price to pay for what he will have after 4 years at the academy.
 
Verizon unlimited is the way to go. Not only is the useage unlimited but the phone can be used as a hotspot for 10G/month too
 
Verizon unlimited is the way to go. Not only is the useage unlimited but the phone can be used as a hotspot for 10G/month too

How well does Verizon work at the academy? Also, if I may ask, how much do you pay?
 
How well does Verizon work at the academy? Also, if I may ask, how much do you pay?
My DD has Verizon and for talking on the phone in Sijan Hall it is terrible. She has to stand by the window, with one foot off the ground and not move for the reception to work. If she goes outside, or anywhere else outside of Sijan, there is no problem. The internet works fine on her phone, but if you don't have the unlimited plan, you will limit usage. She and two other friends share the paid internet provider and she is happy. It works well and she can use her personal computer without problems.
 
I can second Verizon & Sijan; it's just doesn't work there.:(
 
How fast is the internet for dorm rooms?

Depends on how much you want to pay. For the civilian wifi, you can get from, I think, 10 to 50 mb.

A current cadet could give exact monthly charges, but I think $20 - $40 / month.

Intranet for AF laptop is no additional cost.
 
In the enlisted dorms wifi is much more expensive per
While I don't object to the cadets having to pay extra for non-academic WIFI, I do consider the costs to be high. My impression is that USAFA has contracted this service out to BOINGO and I have some concerns that there is the potential for BOINGO to be gouging the cadets.

I have two other children at universities at this time. One of them has the WIFI built into their room and board costs. The other has free basic WIFI at 30mb/sec and a fee for higher speed service. That fee is only $90 per academic for 100mb/sec symmetric WIFI. That service is being provided by a private for profit company, so I believe they are making a profit on their $90 per year fee. I hope someone at USAFA is monitoring the BOINGO contract fees and shopping for more competitive solutions including squadrons rolling their own.

Boingo has been at three of the bases I've lived in the dorms as enlisted, same high prices (although enlisted make more than cadets so it isn't as large percentage of income)
 
So USAFA does have civilian wifi that cadets are free to pay for monthly. This wifi can be connected to with phones, which I think is the biggest concern for most. However, it costs closer to $30/month or $50/month depending on the plan and speed you want.

One thing most squadrons are unaware of is that they are allowed to get their own squadron wifi as of this past year. This uses a civilian provider like Comcast and the internet is setup by cadets (normally IT staff) within their squadron. My squad does this and we get good wifi for about $5/month.

Was there ever an update on how the individual squadrons get set up on this? DS is a newly minted Cadet in squadron E but has no idea of another option other than BOINGO.
 
So USAFA does have civilian wifi that cadets are free to pay for monthly. This wifi can be connected to with phones, which I think is the biggest concern for most. However, it costs closer to $30/month or $50/month depending on the plan and speed you want.

One thing most squadrons are unaware of is that they are allowed to get their own squadron wifi as of this past year. This uses a civilian provider like Comcast and the internet is setup by cadets (normally IT staff) within their squadron. My squad does this and we get good wifi for about $5/month.

Was there ever an update on how the individual squadrons get set up on this? DS is a newly minted Cadet in squadron E but has no idea of another option other than BOINGO.

Your son would have to be in one of those squadrons that have a provider. The only squadron that I know who currently does it is CS-32. It's not as simple as calling up Comcast or AT&T saying you want to buy some internet. Boingo is expensive and doesn't work half the time, but it's all we have which is far better than the past situation.
 
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