Phone and internet service disruption beginning Sunday, Aug. 26


August 31, 2018 Update

Excavation and repair work will continue for several more weeks, but no further service disruptions are expected.


August 27, 2018 Update

Fencing around the excavation site is now in place and digging is underway. There has been minimal service disruption so far, and we do not anticipate that service will be compromised for the majority of the affected buildings going forward. The Rose Art Museum and Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center, however, may experience intermittent service disruptions over the next few days as we continue repair work.


Dear Members of the Brandeis Community,

We recently learned about an unexpected failure in the wiring of an underground phone, data and internet cable near the walkway between Hassenfeld Conference Center, Fellows Garden and Shapiro Campus Center. Site preparation and fencing will start this weekend. Excavation and repair work will begin on Sunday, August 26, and continue for 2-6 days.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, especially as it comes at the start of the academic year.

The following buildings are affected:

  • Hassenfeld Conference Center (including Sherman Dining Hall and the Stein)  
  • Rose Art Museum
  • Pollack Fine Arts Teaching Center
  • Faculty Club
  • Berlin, Bethlehem and Harlan Chapels
  • All residence halls in Massell Quad (Usen, Renfield, Deroy and Shapiro A/B)
  • Rosenthal Quad (Rosenthal East, South and North)

Starting Sunday and for the duration of the repair work, landline phone and data, as well as wireless and hardwired internet operations, will be intermittently interrupted to the affected buildings.

Wi-Fi and internet will be available at any campus location not affected by repairs, including Shapiro Campus Center, which is open 24 hours, and the Goldfarb Library, open Monday, August 27, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Tuesday, August 28, 7:30 a.m. to Wednesday, August 29, 2 a.m.

Power will remain in place in the affected buildings. The swipe card access system and fire alarm systems in these buildings will be unaffected. Cellular phone and data service will work normally in these locations, but wireless connectivity on your cell phone to our campus Wi-Fi system will not work in these locations.

The service interruption will affect payment options in the Faculty Club, Sherman Dining Hall and the Stein.

  • Credit or debit card transactions at these locations during the outage will be suspended.
  • Payment with cash, WhoCash and meal swipe (where offered), will be possible.
  • You may go online or to the Campus Card office and use your credit or debit card to increase the WhoCash balance in your account.

The excavation area will be fenced for the duration of the repair work, with pedestrian access around the site. Please exercise caution and obey all signage.

We will provide email updates as information becomes available. You can also visit this BrandeisNOW page for the latest information, or subscribe at status.brandeis.edu to receive updates on technology services.

If you have questions or concerns about the impact to your landline phone or internet service, contact the Technology Help Desk at 781-736-HELP (x64357) or help@brandeis.edu.

For any other issues, as always, we encourage you to reach out to your community adviser or other appropriate staff. You can find all available resources on the university’s new Support at Brandeis website.

Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and will strive to minimize the disruption. Thank you for your patience.

Sincerely,

Jim Gray
Vice President for Operations

Jim La Creta
Chief Information Officer

Categories: General

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