An interview with the Information & Communication Team (ICT) revealed several ongoing measures and roadblocks in improving the internet conditions on campus, specifically in dorms where many students are taking online classes due to COVID-19. The KAIST Herald met with Mr. Jae Heon Choi from ICT, who is in charge of wired and wireless network maintenance and troubleshooting.

Due to the sudden upsurge of video streaming caused by the online semester, the ICT is currently pursuing projects that expand the backbone of the network structure to facilitate online learning. Specifically, the team is building outdoor access point (AP) systems that will allow students to connect to the network outside of buildings.

In addition, campus-wide optical distribution frames replacement will be carried out from October 17 to November 21 in various buildings around campus. The change will not increase the speed of the network, but will significantly increase its stability. The dorms will not be receiving such changes as their frames are relatively newer, and other buildings require more immediate action.

A survey was conducted in September by the Student Life Team on the quality of the internet in dorms. The ICT also conducted a separate survey in July. The survey results showed that the dorm wireless internet has been increasingly unreliable. Many students have loudly voiced frustration on online school communities regarding the inconsistency and low speed of the wireless internet. The ICT explained that while wired communication was in a decent state, the Welcome_KAIST network is facing difficulties overcoming the physical barriers separating the rooms. The team explained that the internet conditions seem to have worsened compared to previous years due to the increase in video streaming and data size straining the existing infrastructure. Though the team wishes to address this issue, the task would require individual APs for more than 6,000 rooms on campus, along with control equipment and UTP cable rewiring. In short, the cost would be astronomical and even if such a project was to be carried out, it would have to be done in small stages.

The ICT stated that it is aware of the issues regarding the network and is always open to comments. The team hopes that students, rather than posting just in student communities, would voice their opinions and grievances directly to ICT. Students may leave comments to the ICT via the KAIST Portal Inquiry/Request Service, direct email (network@kaist.ac.kr), or through the ICT website (ict.kaist.ac.kr).