The University of Maryland wireless network provides University of Maryland faculty, staff, and students with wireless access to Internet resources without the need of a wired connection. Following a very ambitious year-long expansion and upgrade project, the new UMD Wireless network is one of the largest in the country with over 2,000 access points providing convenient wireless access in more than 100 buildings, including every academic building as well as the Stamp Student Union and McKeldin and Hornbake Libraries.

One of the primary goals of this recent project was to provide the university community with a safe and secure wireless network. Users can now take advantage of the new “umd-secure” wireless network, which will encrypt all wireless transmissions using WPA2/WPA technology. This is the recommended means of accessing the wireless network. Please look here to learn how to configure your laptop to secure your network traffic. If your laptop or other wireless device doesn’t support WPA2/WPA you can still access the “umd” wireless network by launching a Web browser and signing in with your Directory ID and password.

UPDATE
OIT makes 802.11a easier to access!

Currently, the 'umd' and 'umd-secure' wireless networks are available on both the 802.11b/g and 802.11a frequencies. OIT recommends the use of 802.11a with equipment that supports it. 802.11a is generally faster than 802.11b/g because it does not have to support the older 802.11b protocol and there is less interference.

Many new laptops support both 802.11a and 802.11b/g. However, some software drivers, when presented with two networks having the same name, will only allow the user to select the 802.11b/g name. By creating and broadcasting unique names for the 802.11a networks, users will be able to easily select the 802.11a networks. university wireless users are encouraged to use the preferred 802.11a frequencies.

The new wireless network names will be available in parallel with the old names. Over the next several months, users will be encouraged to use the new network names and make them their wireless network defaults.

The table below shows the various University of Maryland wireless networks: