Yuba Community College District Renews with AT&T for Wireless

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 10/13/08

Yuba Community College District (YCCD) has contracted with AT&T to provide wireless Internet access to the 11,000 students attending the district's two Northern California colleges, Yuba College in Marysville and Woodland Community College. The colleges are funding the installation from a $190 million capital expenditure bond that voters approved in November 2006 to finance the district's facility master plan. A portion of that bond was budgeted for wireless Internet.

AT&T designed and implemented a wireless local area network (WLAN) solution for the district while training YCCD's IT staff on how to administer and maintain the new system. The WLAN, which requires ID numbers to log on, allows students and faculty to access the Internet on their personal laptops in campus courtyards, libraries, cafeterias, and parks.

"The students love it," said Scott Snelgrove, computer network services manager. "We're seeing groups of students working together in the library or the cafeteria, and more kids are now coming here on weekends to get access."

AT&T already provided local and long distance service for many of the district's office phones.