New Pitt Wi-Fi network gives gamers an upgrade

Pitt’s new Wi-Fi network is a generous gift to gamers.

Now that the holiday season has passed, most people who enjoy gaming have gotten the newest installments in venerated series like “Titanfall 2,” “Battlefield 1,” “Final Fantasy XV,” “The Last Guardian” or “Pokémon Sun” and “Pokémon Moon.” If they’re lucky, they might even have a brand new console to play on. And now Pitt is making strides to be more accommodating for gamers with its new “Pitt Gaming Network.” But — as is typically the case with technological advancements — there’s still more the University can do to make sure that students can efficiently use the new network.

As an avid gamer myself, I applaud Pitt and was excited about the prospects of being able to game wirelessly in my dorm. Immediately upon hearing about the new network, I attempted to connect my Nintendo 3DS, but was confused when it did not connect immediately. As it turns out, the network’s capabilities are exclusive to Apple TVs and consoles such as the Xbox and PlayStation systems.

When I asked the Pitt Technology Help Desk about this issue, they advised me that the network can connect to any device that has a MAC address, but connecting a device requires going through a series of steps that can be followed on their website.

What’s more, security protocols only allow Pitt gaming to connect with one gaming console at a time. This means that a student would be unable to connect both an Xbox One and a PlayStation 4 at once, an unfortunate and annoying quirk for students who want to hook up multiple gaming consoles.

Even with this limitation, the new network was put in place to allow more students and more devices to connect to Pitt’s WiFi.

In the past, certain security protocols in the University network prevented several gaming consoles from being hooked up to the “Wireless-Pittnet” Wi-Fi network. According to the desk, certain gaming device networks didn’t have the data for a username and password. Those networks contained only one password and were more vulnerable to security breaches. Since the University network uses a username and password for security, gaming consoles such as the Xbox and Playstation couldn’t connect. The higher detailed technical aspects are beyond my knowledge, but according to the desk, most video game consoles can connect now, with common examples being the Playstation 3, Playstation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One.

The network’s purpose, according to the Tech Help Desk, is to limit the amount of traffic in the standard Pittnet wifi. Gaming consoles that are compatible with the standard Wireless-Pittnet network were creating a lot of traffic and clogging up the network on campus for other students also using the internet to study, chat with friends or stream music and movies.

Of course, some of the gaming consoles that are compatible with the Pitt-Gaming Wi-Fi network are still compatible with the standard Wireless-Pittnett, but the new network provides a more intuitive and streamlined process of connecting gaming consoles than the Pittnet wifi.

But if Pitt students, like the many I spoke with, continue to be unaware of the new network or how it works, then the implementation of the Pitt-gaming network becomes completely counterproductive. Students will simply continue to hook up their “Wireless-Pittnet”-compatible consoles to the standard network and the traffic will stay.

Overall this new Wi-Fi network is a wonderful gift for gamers, and one that I would love to use with my PlayStation 4 — if I brought it with me. The Technology Help Desk should explain the network a bit better, perhaps sending out an email or statement for resident assistants to share with their residents. The ability to connect with friends over gaming is hugely increased with the addition of a new Wi-Fi network specifically for that purpose, so an effort to educate students about it rooted in a social format makes the most sense. This will raise awareness of the network and encourage students to connect to it, without having to go to the desk in person to find out.

The gaming experience for students on Pitt’s campus has so much untapped potential that can hopefully be accessed in the near future. When it comes to connecting console gamers at Pitt with their friends online, the new network capitalizes on one of the most important aspects of the gaming experience — simply being able to play video games with friends.

Thomas primarily writes about visual media and gaming for The Pitt News.
Write to him at tmw79@pitt.edu.