Campus-wide Wi-Fi Coming to Laurel Lake This Year

According to Senior Housing News, 71% of older adults now go online daily and more are accessing the internet via mobile devices than ever before. Roughly 20% now own smartphones and 25% own e-book readers and tablets, according to Pew Research Center. And of course, a majority of their adult children and grandchildren use these mobile devices.

At Laurel Lake, this shift in resident demand has not gone unnoticed. Laurel Lake rolled out free Wi-Fi in public spaces several years ago, and is now in the process of installing high-speed Wi-Fi throughout our entire campus.

Nearly $1 million will be spent this fiscal year to lay many miles of fiber optic cable for this major infrastructure project to improve broadband connectivity throughout Laurel Lake.

The work should be completed this Fall, according to Mike Rowe, Director of Environmental Services. When complete, this new state-of-the-art network will provide Wi-Fi access everywhere on campus—in every building, every apartment and villa, even popular outdoor gathering spots like Pat's Patio, the Barlow Pavilion, and Greenwood Courtyard.

Wi-fi has been available in resident homes before, but only through Time Warner Cable. Soon, this services will automatically be provided as a standard feature of every Laurel Lake home, and will be included in the monthly service package.

"Many of our residents’ visitors are family members—adult children and grandchildren, who are used to having their smart phones and tablets handy," says Michael Leslein, Laurel Lake’s CFO and director of information technology. "This rollout will not only benefit residents, it will improve the Laurel Lake experience for everyone who steps through our doors."

What’s so great about a fiber optic system? Unlike traditional copper wire networks, fiber optic cables are immune to power surges, noise,  and static. Fiber optics use light to transmit information, so networks can transmit more information faster. This makes it easier to browse the web and download music, movies and TV shows online. Fiber-optic cables are made of thin glass tubes so they’re also harder to  tap without detection, making the network more secure.