Charging for UF Dialup Services

Marc Hoit, Interim CIO

Computing & Networking Services (CNS) has been providing GatorLink Dial-up Services for the campus for many years. Because use of this service has dropped significantly over the past two years, the costs of providing the service have become unbalanced compared to the community it serves. Currently, the service supports only 4000 people. Most campus users have shifted to using broadband connections via cable modems and DSL services from home because of the faster connection speeds (from 4 MB download to 512 Kbps upload with even higher speeds available at a premium). In contrast, the UF dialup service is much slower – only 56.6 Kbps.

Accordingly, we are preparing to charge for the dial-up service and will consider discontinuing the service as many of our peer institutions have already done. However, to provide users ample time to adjust, we have developed a migration plan that starts July 1, 2006, have a review period and will develop a strategy for the future of the GatorLink Dial-up Service by December 31, 2006.

Starting July 1, 2006:

• All GatorLink Dial-up Service users will be charged a $5.00 monthly fee that provides 3600 minutes (60 hours) of local use.

• Any use over the allotted minutes will be charged at the rate of $0.01/minute.

• The 1-800 Toll Free Dial-up Service will be charged at the current usage rate of $0.10/minute in addition to the $5/month charge.

• In December 2006, we will review the usage, needs and cost recovery and make a decision on future of the service.

We encourage existing dial-up users to consider DSL or cable modem service as the most convenient and effective means to work on the Internet from home. For users with a modest need for Internet access, many alternative dial-up service providers offer feature-rich services at low prices.

You may find additional information on the dial-up service migration plan and suggestions on acquiring broadband services or other dial-up service providers atwww.it.ufl.edu

If you have any questions, please contact me at mhoit@ufl.edu.