Allegheny College, founded in 1815, is a private co-educational institution located in Meadville, Pennsylvania with 1,900 students. PremCom Corporation is a premier Multi-Service Integrator that provides design, installation and support of communication and data networks. PremCom began operation in 1991. Despite the difference in age – the two have an extraordinary partnership.

In 1992, Allegheny College wanted to update its network and bring its Liberal Arts campus into the new information age. This large project was entrusted to PremCom Corporation, known for their infrastructural expertise. Alltel, an information technology company that provides wireline and wireless communications also played a vital role. Allegheny hired Alltel to provide the local and long-distance telephone service, as well as Internet access for the entire campus. PremCom and Alltel worked together on the project, with PremCom responsible for designing and integrating the migration path for the network infrastructure and Alltel handling the telephony. “The synergy between PremCom and Alltel was remarkable, because we each have different specialties – we complimented each other very well,” said Don Irving, Senior Vice President for PremCom. “We both had the shared end-goal of having Allegheny College completely networked for access throughout the entire campus.”

The initial phrase would include installing a complete infrastructure throughout the academic and administrative buildings. Because of the historical nature of most of the campus, special care needed to be taken by PremCom during the installation process.

“One of the biggest challenges that PremCom encountered, and one of great concern to Allegheny College, was to ensure that during the installation, the aesthetics of the campus were not compromised nor was there interference with the historic value of the buildings,” said Irving. “To assure perfection, extensive time was spent on the design and preparation of the Allegheny project.”

The initial project was a success. When it came time to wire all the residence halls, Allegheny knew whom they could trust to get the job done. “We have grown comfortable over the years with PremCom,” expressed Tim Hunter, Director of Technical Network Services for Allegheny College. “I don’t have to worry about PremCom cutting any corners. And I certainly don’t have to be checking up on them to make sure they are completing the job correctly.”

PremCom’s network experts spent the summer of 1998 at Allegheny College, not as students, but working to make sure all 800 rooms in 12 different buildings had cable television, Internet access and a new phone system. It was another wiring challenge, as various aged buildings needed to be handled with care. The Residence Halls project was completed flawlessly and students were ready to go when they reported back for the new school year.

Allegheny is known as a Liberal Arts college and technology is not its forte. But current day students need Internet access and having a campus with updated technology certainly can help recruiting efforts. Hunter recalled, “It did take some convincing in the beginning, but now the faculty and the entire staff at the college can see the benefits.”

The advantage of having a networked campus is beneficial to everyone at the college. Students now have increased communication with classmates and faculty members. Professors are able to easily communicate with their students and are able to extend their classroom hours by arranging on-line discussions. There are also bulletin boards that are set-up for students to post questions for each other. In the end, the primary goal is improved communication, and now Allegheny College faculty, staff and students all benefit from the upgrades.

The summer of 2001, PremCom attended Allegheny College once again. This time the plan is to get students back into the library by completely wiring the building. The design will allow students to access the Internet from cubicles or in a group setting at tables. “We want the students to remember that even though the Residence Halls are networked, that the library offers invaluable resources,” said Hunter. “The library staff has information and access to valid information sources that students should be sure to take advantage.”

Today, PremCom is continuously offering Allegheny updates on new technology and ways to improve on their present system. This comes naturally for PremCom because of their familiarity with the infrastructure at Allegheny College. PremCom offers technical support should anything ever go wrong. Presently the two have a 10-year maintenance agreement. “PremCom is very responsive to any problems that have come up,” states Hunter. The relationship with PremCom is the best I’ve ever had with a maintenance vendor.”