
U of C students frustrated as wifi issues continue into the winter semester
By Jill Reeves and Nazeefa Ahmed with files from Vama Saini, February 2 2025—
For the past several weeks, students across the University of Calgary campuses have become increasingly frustrated with the ongoing disruptions to accessible wifi.
In an email to students on Jan. 28, the university stated that there would be “intermittent wireless internet outages” on Feb. 8 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. as part of “routine network maintenance.”
“This outage will affect all wireless connections on campus, including AirUCSecure, AirUCGuest, AirUCResidence and Eduroam,” reads a statement from the email.
“It’s been a very frustrating experience,” said Hayley Rowlings, a fourth year psychology student, adding that she lost marks on a lab assignment because she was unable to submit her work during a campus wifi outage.
“Given that we spend so much money on tuition it doesn’t make any sense how our wifi sucks so much. I shouldn’t have to use my personal data or hotspot in order to do my school work on campus,” said Rowlings.
In a statement provided to the Gauntlet by the university, the impact of the inability to access a reliable network connection was acknowledged.
“UCalgary recognizes the importance of a reliable network to support teaching, learning, research and day-to-day operations across our campuses,” read the statement.
The university explained why these outages were occurring, and the intricacy of maintaining a large network system.
“This fall, UCalgary experienced network outages due to a software bug in a firewall update. While updates are essential for security, this caused unexpected instability. We quickly restored services by reverting to a stable version and are continuing to work with the vendor on a long-term solution,” read the statement.
However, students have noticed wifi issues are continuing into the winter semester.
“It’s not the best, even now,” said Avneet Kaur, a second year marketing student.
Other students find the wifi acceptable, but still use their personal data.
“There is not much issue with it but I prefer to use my 5G. Whenever I use campus wifi, it has always worked,” said Syed Muhammad Abbas, another U of C student.
“This month, a separate issue caused further disruptions,” the university continued in their statement. “Though unrelated, it highlights the complexities of managing a large, multi-campus network. Our IT team worked swiftly to resolve the issue and restore services as quickly as possible.”
Students have also been increasingly expressing their frustrations on the platform Reddit, some stating in comments that they were forced to defer exams due to the inability to use virtual study resources. Others state that online tutorials were interrupted, and in-person lectures couldn’t utilize pre-prepared materials such as powerpoints.
Long-term solutions and a commitment to improvement were addressed by the university as well.
“We understand these disruptions are frustrating and are actively working to build a more stable and reliable network. UCalgary has launched a multi-year project to upgrade outdated equipment, improve redundancy to minimize outages, and enhance our ability to address future challenges. Upgrades are expected to begin in late 2025,” read the statement.
More information on IT systems at the University of Calgary can be found here.