Charlton Wilson is often frustrated with the walk to the downstairs commons area for Internet.”You can’t check Facebook or e-mail in your room,” said the incoming mass communication freshman. “You have to go downstairs to the commons area to get Internet, which can be a hassle. It’s harder to stay in touch with people.”Wilson said he is staying in East Laville during the Summer as part of the Summer Opportunities program. Steve Waller, director of Residential Life, said wireless Internet installation in University dorms is on track to be completed by the start of the fall semester after installation began late last fall. Three dorms  — South Hall, West Hall and Broussard Hall — already have functioning wireless internet, and all other residence halls are currently in progress.Waller said the project will cost $250,000, but the project is funded with money from ResLife bank accounts and reserves, not student fees or rent. However, Waller said money is needed for equipment maintenance and Internet service, though this money will come from discontinuing dorm room phone lines, since most students prefer cell phones to land lines.”At first we considered a 1 percent increase in rent,” he said. “But then we decided discontinuing phone lines as a trade off.”Waller said residents have the option of setting up a phone line in the dorms for an additional fee.Sheri Thompson, IT communications and planning officer, said other University wireless transmitters require regular maintenance and have a full-time staff for upkeep.”There is always work that needs to be done,” she said. “We had several issues this year. They need to be maintained by full-time professionals.”Thompson said the wireless routers are 802.11b and 802.11g transmitters, which use a 2.4 GHz ISM radio band.Qugiong Hehe, economics graduate student, said she lives in Nicholson Apartments, which already has wireless Internet.”Having wireless in more convenient,” she said. “Ethernet cords can be a problem.”Though most residential halls are empty during the summer, a few, such as East Campus Apartments and East Laville, are still functioning. Waller said students living in these halls will be notified in advance of the installation.”Hopefully we’ll only have to install transmitters in the halls and breezeways, without entering the rooms,” he said. “Though some may require installation in each room.”Waller said older dorms with thicker walls will require a transmitter in each room, though some of the newer buildings will require fewer access points.Wilson said he plans to stay in McVoy Hall in the fall. He said he is looking forward to having wireless Internet because it will be “much easier.”—-Contact Steven Powell at [email protected]