IPhone may be to blame at Duke

Wireless network has been stalling

The iPhone is the year's hottest must-have gadget, but it might be causing minor headaches at Duke University.

Duke's wireless network has been stalling for brief periods since the phones started popping up on campus, a university spokesman said Tuesday.

Since Friday, Duke network administrators have counted nine episodes in which the school's wireless network jammed and was inaccessible for 10 to 15 minutes, said Duke information technology spokesman Bill Cannon. He said he can't explain the exact cause of the problem or why it so far seems to affect only Duke. Spokespeople with UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University report no concerns. But their tech staffers are paying close attention to the Duke situation, officials at both schools said.

Any indication of other institutions having iPhone-induced network problems would be an embarrassment to Apple. Technology trade publications and Web sites are buzzing about Duke's network trouble. Apple officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

One possible explanation is that iPhones may be programmed to try continually to connect to the Internet through wireless network access points, Cannon said. If the requests go unanswered, the phones would automatically keep asking, flooding the network and jamming its traffic -- "the electronic equivalent of repeated knocking on the door," he said.

There are 100 to 150 iPhones registered on Duke's network.

"We're still investigating, but at the minimum, there is an integration problem," Cannon said. That means the solution could involve Cisco Systems, Duke's main wireless network provider. Cisco staffers did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday, "though Cisco is investigating vigorously," Cannon said.

He said that Duke's information technology staff will stay in close contact with Apple and Cisco until the problems are resolved.

"We have great relationships with both companies. And we definitely want these iPhones to work well on campus," Cannon said.