2025 UEN Tech Summit

A technical review of recent updates to wireless standards focusing on WiFi-6e and WiFi-7. RF design guidelines, troubleshooting tools and looking toward to the future – WiFi-8.

Ideal wireless design runs counter to our cave-person brains. More power is not the solution for wireless unless both participants, AP and device, can be more powerful. This leads to a frustrating tenet of wireless networks - the client device, not the enterprise network, determines the location and defines the relationship. This presentation will go into making the enterprise network more appealing to devices and delve into how to influence the relationship to deliver more robust and stable wireless networking. The presentation starts with general wireless terminology and then moves on to power and signal considerations. With better design addressed, trouble-shooting tools that have been successful in the field will be introduced. Throughout the presentation references to the new Wi-Fi 7 standard and the design goals of the Wi-Fi 8 consortium will be included. Of course, wireless presentation would be complete without some form of a bakeoff? A challenge will be extended to the audience to keep them engaged.

Discover how school districts in the SEDC region are saving money and improving communication with an easy-to-manage FreePBX VoIP system. Learn about remote provisioning, E911 compliance, voicemail-to-email, and more—delivering enhanced safety, flexibility, and major cost savings with minimal effort.

In this session, we will explore the deployment of a VoIP system utilizing FreePBX, focusing on key features that enhance communication, improve safety, and generate cost savings. Our implementation includes remote phone provisioning, enabling seamless connectivity for users across multiple locations while simplifying device management. We have integrated E911 services through Clearly IP, ensuring compliance with Ray Baum’s Act and Kari’s Law, which mandate accurate location reporting and direct emergency dialing. Additionally, features such as voicemail-to-email and intercom functionality enhance accessibility and collaboration within our organization. Several LEAs in the SEDC region have successfully transitioned to this VoIP system, with others currently in the early stages of implementation. One of the most significant benefits of this transition is substantial cost savings, reducing traditional telephony expenses while increasing flexibility and scalability. This presentation will outline the key components, challenges, and benefits of our FreePBX-based VoIP system, demonstrating how it improves both operational efficiency and emergency preparedness.

Doing site surveys with a drone is here! We can accurately scan WiFi and Cellular technologies in those hard to get to or even time consuming deployments/design.

Show videos and if possible a live demo of a drone taking flight (if venue allows) Show technical information relating to the data collected and why you might want to use a drone for both wifi or CBRS surveys. Show off the how and when to use a drone and the challenges involved.

Do you want to provide a more seamless experience for your staff, students, teachers and guests as they travel to other districts in the state? Join us in the discussion and get information for the "Eduroam Firewall and Filtering Working group" meetings. Our group meets twice a month to tackle the nuances of firewall and filtering rules and guidelines. We encourage participation from engineers that are responsible for their district's firewall and filtering deployments and also any leadership that creates policies for their guest and eduroam networks.

The presentation will include information on the purpose of the "Eduroam Firewall and Filtering Working group" meeting, vision statement and goals. We will have an open discussion on efforts we have currently started while welcoming any new ideas. how to share, document and provide guidelines. Purpose Statement: To enhance the consistency of the eduroam user experience across K12 school districts and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in Utah, this working group will refine existing firewall and content filtering recommendations. Objectives: Develop a standardized set of rule sets and policy guidelines tailored to the unique needs of K12 environments and education-focused LEAs. Ensure these recommendations support secure, equitable, and seamless access to eduroam across districts. Publish and distribute the finalized rule sets and documentation to all LEAs for voluntary adoption and implementation.

WiFi 6e/7 are here to stay, but we need to make changes in our environments. We'll focus on the standards changes in these around 6GHz and talk through what we need to address them. I'm unavailable on Thursday to present.

Interested in deploying 6GHz in your schools? We'll discuss the challenges around deploying WPA3 and 6GHz and then reap the benefits once you do! Some of the topics will include: - WPA3 compatibility in devices - Deployment strategy for SSIDs - RF design - Access Point power - Network design