Wireless help with Guest Network at Hospital

Hi Everyone -

I work at a hospital that has only set up a guest wireless network for everyone, including staff.

Each time I need to access it with my MBA or iPhone, I have to "authenticate" the session.
This already slows things down. However, now I am noticing that it "deauthenticates" my device frequently --- while I am browsing.

I spoke with our tech support and -- well first they dont support anything Mac, and windows products dont have this problem --- in any case, he said it was because there is a power saving feature on Macs that cause them to disconnect when not being used. This doesnt make sense, since it is happening while I am using it!!

Anyway, is there truth to this? Is there a way to turn it off?

Is there something I can install that will automatically "authenticate" the guest network?

Thank you all!

Moved to appropriate forum.

How about explaining what you mean by "authenticating" the session? Do you have to enter a password to log on? A guest network is usually open to the public unless the guest provider has it locked so that a password must be entered in order to log on. In that respect, Mac OS X is no different from Windows. That's why open WiFi networks such as found at Starbucks can cater to both Macs and PCs.

Ah sorry, what I meant by "authenticating" is that a new window pops up in which we must click "accept". This is to accept the terms and conditions of using the network. There is no password or login.

Hope this helps... thank you all again.

If that window keeps popping up asking you to accept the terms of usage, then it's a problem with their network software not your Mac. Lots of closed and guest networks that have been put together were done so to accommodate Windows users. Same with many web pages that expect IE and refuse to work correctly with Safari. Common problem.

There's really nothing you can do about it except remind the network administrators there at the hospital that the fastest growing operating system and computers are OS X and Macs. They need to bring their network up to date.