Campus is a place to connect with professors, students, colleagues — and, of course, Wi-Fi. No matter where you are on campus, you’ll see laptops, tablets, and mobile devices all connected to the same network. Fast, reliable connectivity is the invisible infrastructure behind how the Pitt community learns, teaches, and works.
This summer, Pitt Digital is making a significant investment in PittNet, the University’s Wi-Fi and wired network, to ensure it can handle the way the campus actually uses it today. The project includes installing nearly 4,000 new Wi-Fi access points and updating wired connections across offices, classrooms, and other non-residential areas of the Pittsburgh campus. The upgrade covers both PittNet and Eduroam, the network that lets visitors from other universities connect while they're here.
If that sounds like a big summer project, it is. But it’s also a lot more complicated than flipping a switch.
🏛️ Old Buildings, New Technology
Pitt’s campus is a mix of old and new architecture — Gothic stone, brutalist concrete, and everything in between. That architectural variety is part of what makes campus beautiful, and navigating thick concrete walls and the labyrinthine layout of buildings like the Cathedral of Learning is part of what makes upgrading Wi-Fi such a technical challenge.
An upgrade like this involves more than new equipment. Buildings need to be surveyed floor by floor to measure coverage, pinpoint dead zones, and identify anything causing interference. Only after that careful groundwork can technicians determine exactly where to place access points for the best results. It’s detailed work that means come fall, users across campus will see the difference in stronger, more consistent connections.
🗓️ What to Expect This Summer
The project runs from June through mid-August, with work happening across dozens of key buildings on campus. If your building is on the schedule, you may experience brief, localized service interruptions during the process.
Here's what you should know:
- Pitt Digital will communicate all planned service interruptions in advance, and the team works to schedule maintenance windows outside of peak hours to minimize the impact on daily operations.
- If a planned outage lands at a bad time for a critical activity in your area, reach out to the Technology Help Desk proactively — the team will work with you to minimize disruptions.
One thing worth knowing if you live on campus: Residence hall Wi-Fi runs on MyResNet, a separate network designed specifically for the unique demands of residential living. This project focuses on academic and administrative spaces.
🔧 Fine-Tuning Takes Time
Even after a network is installed and tested, it often needs adjustments once a space is back in full use. A classroom that performed well during summer testing might behave differently when tested by 30 real students trying to connect their laptops, phones, and tablets.
That’s why your feedback is so important to a project like this.
📣 Report Issues So We Can Fix Them
If you notice a Wi-Fi problem and report it, you’re helping us identify and resolve issues that might be affecting everyone in a given space. Some problems only surface once a building is back in active use, and without reports, they can go undetected.
So, if something seems off — a persistent dead zone, sluggish speeds in a particular room, or trouble staying connected — don’t just live with it. Reach out.
The easiest way to report an issue is by contacting the Technology Help Desk:
The sooner you report, the faster Pitt Digital can investigate and get it resolved.
🔄 A Small Change to Network Names
As part of this modernization effort, you may notice something new when you connect to Wi-Fi this fall: simplified network names. PittNet and Pitt Guest are new, easier-to-remember alternatives to the more technical WIRELESS-PITTNET and PITT GUEST WI-FI — and they align with how most people already refer to the service. When you connect a new device, look for PittNet or Pitt Guest. Eduroam won’t be affected by this change.
📶 The Network, Upgraded
Reliable Wi-Fi is just something we expect in 2026, but upgrading the network that supports how thousands of students, faculty, and staff work every day is a significant undertaking. This summer’s initiative is designed around careful surveying, new infrastructure, and ongoing fine-tuning to match how the campus uses its technology.
For more information on the Network Modernization Project, visit digital.pitt.edu/wifi.
— Pitt Digital
