About Columbus State University
Columbus State University operates Spencer House in North Oxford as a base for its academic programmes in the city. Located just off Woodstock Road, the property provides accommodation and facilities for visiting students and plays an important role in supporting the university’s activity in Oxford. As the building neared the end of an extensive 11-month renovation, Columbus State University needed a complete and reliable Wi-Fi and network solution in place before students arrived.
The Challenge
As Spencer House approached completion following a major refurbishment, Columbus State University needed to fully re-establish network connectivity across the entire site. Historically, the building had an internet connection and a point-to-point link connecting the main house to an outhouse across the courtyard, but this was no longer in place. During our site visit, it quickly became clear that while CAT6 cabling had been installed from the main communications point to each room as part of the renovation works, there was no functioning wireless network in place and only a small amount of outdated hardware remained.
The brief was to deliver full Wi-Fi coverage throughout the property, including all internal rooms and bedrooms, the courtyard and garden areas, and the separate outhouse building. This required careful planning to ensure the right number and placement of access points, as well as a dependable building-to-building connection to extend coverage beyond the main house.
There was also a critical issue with the internet connection itself. The line appeared to be inactive, creating a risk to the entire project timeline. Further investigation revealed that the broadband line had been damaged during the refurbishment works, meaning this issue needed to be diagnosed, escalated and resolved alongside the wider network deployment. With students due to arrive shortly and stay at Spencer House, the entire solution needed to be delivered, tested and live within a tight timeframe.
The Solution
Get Support designed and delivered a complete Ubiquiti UniFi-based network solution to provide reliable, high-performance connectivity across the entire Spencer House site. A new 12U data cabinet was installed to create a professional and secure central communications point, housing a Ubiquiti UniFi rack-mount router, a 24-port managed gigabit PoE switch, a 12-way rack-mount PDU and a 12-port Cat6 patch panel. This created a robust core network infrastructure that could support the building’s immediate needs while also providing a tidy and scalable installation.
To deliver wireless connectivity throughout the property, we installed ten Ubiquiti tri-band ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi access points across the main building, ensuring strong coverage through the bedrooms and internal communal areas. We also deployed an outdoor UniFi Wi-Fi 7 access point to extend wireless coverage into the courtyard and garden spaces.
To restore connectivity to the outhouse, we installed a UniFi building-to-building bridge and a separate UniFi 8-port managed gigabit PoE switch within that building, allowing it to benefit from both a stable backhaul connection and its own local network distribution. The entire system was professionally installed, cabled and commissioned using the required containment, fixings and infrastructure components.
In addition to the hardware deployment, we configured and tested five VLANs, set up and validated the required SSIDs, commissioned the full garden link, and prepared a full documentation pack for handover to the client. At the same time, we investigated the failed internet connection, liaised directly with Openreach, and coordinated the required action to restore the damaged line in time for project completion.
The Result
The project was delivered in full within a four-week lead time, with the entire network installation completed and operational ahead of student arrival at Spencer House. Columbus State University was left with a fully modernised, professionally installed wired and wireless network that now provides dependable coverage throughout the building, across external spaces and into the separate outhouse.
By resolving the damaged broadband line, restoring site-wide connectivity and deploying a properly designed wireless solution, Get Support helped ensure the building was ready to support its immediate operational needs following refurbishment. The result was a smooth and timely delivery, giving the client confidence that students and staff would arrive to a fully connected, ready-to-use academic environment.
“Get Support delivered exactly what we needed within a tight timeframe. The building required a complete Wi-Fi and network solution ahead of student arrival, and the team handled everything from the hardware deployment to resolving the broadband issue. The end result was a professional, reliable installation delivered on time and to a very high standard.”
Dr. Eric Spears
Professor / Executive Director, Center for Global Engagement, Columbus State University