In response to growing Internet use at Grand Valley, the university has ordered the following upgrades, according to Bob Fletcher, vice provost of Information Technology. First, the Internet connection will expand from its current 10-megabits-per-second rate to 45 megabits per second. The anticipated completion date for this upgrade is February 28. Secondly, 100 dial-in modems will be added to the 305 currently installed in Grand Rapids. Twenty of these additional modems were installed in Grand Rapids on February 10, said Fletcher.
The Holland modem pool will be expanded by 15 modems. The exact installation date is unclear because of the volume of business being conducted in the telecommunications industry, said Fletcher. We hope that the installation will be completed by March 31.
Additionally, to accommodate the opening of the Richard M. DeVos Center, a second fiber optic cable between the Allendale and Grand Rapids campuses has been installed. The new cable will allow us to set up two 1,000-megabit-per-second connections between the two campuses, Fletcher said. This cable will replace the current single 16-megabit connection.
Because two independent cables that take different routes will be used, it will reduce the chances of network outages due to cable cuts. The new fiber optic cable also provides additional capacity for future growth.
