Why is the cell service on Cornell’s campus so bad?

Maybe I just had an old phone, or maybe something was wrong with me. I wasn’t sure what it was when I first arrived in Ithaca, unable to connect. Everyday, without fail, the WiFi would be overwhelmed by traffic, with my phone barely loading webpages. Cell service was even less reliable, and I found myself on my 10 minute walk to class, with a single video waiting loading and loading from the moment I stepped out until the moment I ducked into class.

But the effects were more pernicious than lost time listening to podcasts on YouTube. It meant being unable to reply to urgent emails, or sometimes sending a photo over text that just wouldn’t go through. Out on the Arts Quad, the heart of Cornell, the connection was often at its worst.

I got a new phone when my old one got older. And yet the problems have persisted. Calls with my mom cut out, messages to friends bounce, and important emails remain out of reach. This is certainly frustrating to anyone who has anything time-sensitive to get done.

I am sure others struggle these same delays, in fact I have just asked three of my friends and they attest to Cornell’s poor connection as well. Yet when for the fifth time my call cuts out or my song fails to start, I wonder if it is me that is the problem, and it feels as if I am the only person who has ever lost service. How could this problem persist on a college campus? Ithaca wasn’t so Podunk a town, Cornell not so insignificant a school.

Soon enough, however, the service comes back a bit stronger. The WiFi works again. Maybe it was turning my phone off and on that helped, I don’t know. And my angst fades away. WiFi, after all, is one of those things you only really think about when it is missing.

Nonetheless, I will not be the one to advocate for better WiFi or cell service on Cornell’s campus. I know the issue is that there are thousands of others on this campus exactly like me, loading and reloading videos. But it isn’t the worst thing, these gaps and delays. There is only so much music you can take, and only so many podcasts you can listen to, until your ears get tired and you take out your earbuds and yearn for quiet. Sometimes, that time comes after a few hours of listening, other times after a few seconds. My morning walks are now quiet. It’s one of Cornell’s better lessons.