UC Santa Cruz First to Pilot Wide-Area Wireless
Utilizing the Ricochet wireless data network, from Metricom, as well as Ricochet wireless modems, students at UC Santa Cruz with portable computers can accessnetworked resources from any spot on campus&emdash;under a tree, at the student cafe, in a parking lot, etc.Metricom has installed 25 pole-top radios to provide the wireless network infrastructure. Net user rates of Ricochet range from 10-40 kilobits per second (Kbps),with a raw data rate at 100 Kbps, thus enabling download of real files, not just e-mail and text.Students get a special rate for subscribing to the service with unlimited use.Pilot networks are also operating at Stanford University and the Cupertino School District; Palo Alto is installing Ricochet boxes on its light poles citywide.Metricom, Inc., Los Gatos, CA, (408) 399-8165.
This article originally appeared in the 10/01/1995 issue of THE Journal.