Volume 2. No 4 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis Summer 1994

---

Jack Kerouac Never Had to Worry about Email

by Joel Snyder, Opus One

[Editor's Note: The following article originally appeared in Internet World, June/July/August 1993, Vol. 4, No. 5. It is reprinted here with permission of author Joel Snyder and editor of Internet World Daniel Dern.] Getting access to your Internet email when on the road is a common problem, especially for those of us who travel semi-frequently and to different locations each time. Fortunately, there are inexpensive solutions that let you keep in touch without breaking the bank.

No matter which of the techniques you use, make sure you get all the information before leaving town. You'll need phone numbers, modem settings and speeds, and possibly special keywords, passwords, and procedures. A practice session before you leave is also a very good idea. You'll want to make sure everything works while you can still get local help.

For the infrequent traveler, a laptop and modem are all that's needed to make you self-sufficient. It's possible to borrow or rent a computer on the road, but you'll have the greatest chance of success if you bring along a system and software you're familiar with. This doesn't have to be expensive: low tech, low weight, low speed laptops such as for $400 or less.

Once you're equipped, you've got to figure out how to bridge the long distance between you and your email. There are two basic techniques. The first is to use the telephone network to get you all the way home. The other is to dial some local computer system or network access point (for free, usually), and use the data networks to get you the rest of the way.

Dialing back to the office using normal long distance is one of the most expensive ways of staying connected, but it has simplicity on its side. No prior arrangements, no funny software, and no monthly fees. To save money, don't call direct. Most hotels see long distance as a profit center, and charge exorbitant rates. A one-minute call from a hotel in Atlanta to Arizona last month cost $5.64! Instead, use a telephone credit card to place the call and avoid most hotel charges. To get help placing a call, try 800-321-0288 for AT&T or 800-877-8000 for Sprint.

A common alternative is to try and get a guest account at an Internet site where you're traveling. This usually works, if you've got the time to track down local postmasters and beg for accounts. But there are no guarantees, and the effort can be substantial.

As your time on the road increases, 800-style service can be an alternative. The costs for this service have dropped dramatically over the past decade, with monthly fees and per-minute charges quite reasonable.

One plan from MCI will map a local dial-in modem to a toll-free 800 number for $5 a month, with per- minute charges of $.26. This means you can dial, for example, 1-800-JANS-VAX, and the call will ring on your normal, local dial-in modem number. Other plans increase the monthly charge and reduce the per-minute charges to less than $.20. Most of the larger long distance companies are now offering this kind of service. Try calling AT&T (800/222- 0400) and asking about their Starterline and Readyline services, or MCI (800/444-2222) for their Private 800 or 800 Business services. MCI's Private 800 is especially interesting to dial-in users, because it requires a 4-digit password before the call will go through. This helps screen out nuisance calls and hackers before the charges add up.

An online service such as the CompuServe Information Service (800/848-8990) or MCI Mail (800/444-6245) can act as an email access point when on the road. For $9 a month, CompuServe Information Service offers unlimited connect time and a $9 email usage credit. That means you can send or receive about 60 Internet messages a month without additional fees (but note that CompuServe charges you for email in both directions). If you forward your email to your CompuServe account before leaving, you can read and respond while on the road at little or no charge.

CompuServe's advantage is that they have local dial-in service to most cities in the US, which means no long distance charges. Unfortunately, there is no way to directly access the Internet from Compu-Serve (although there is an Internet-to- CompuServe gateway).

MCI Mail doesn't offer the non-email services CompuServe does, but it has a lower charge if all you do is read mail: $35/year, with toll-free 800 numbers, and no charges for access or reading mail. Sending an MCI Mail message is much more expensive, though, with charges starting at $0.50, and going up from there.

Both MCI Mail and Compu-Serve have alternative pricing plans which may make sense, depending on how much mail you get and how frequently you travel.

A warning if you take this approach: forwarding mail unselectively can be dangerous. A malicious sender can fill up your mailbox, keeping legitimate messages from getting through.

If you need more than email, or don't want the headaches of turning on and off email forwarding, you can get public access Internet accounts from many different vendors. If you do this, write down your site's numeric IP address as well as the normal DNS address. Most have no surcharge for access from their home city, which may be a free or inexpensive call, depending on where you're staying. A few services also have inexpensive access via 800 numbers or through a connection to a network such as Sprintnet (formerly Telenet), BT Tymnet, or CompuServe.

CompuServe, SprintNet, and BT Tymnet all have access numbers in most major and many smaller cities in North America. When you're on the road, call CompuServe at 800/848-8990, SprintNet at 800/877-5045 (press 5), and Tymnet at 800/336-0149 to find the closest phone number.

The monthly minimums are usually pretty high, but one low-cost contender is Holonet (510/704-0160), in Berkeley, California. Since Holonet is on the Internet, you can telnet from there back to your home email system. Holonet charges a low minimum of $6/month, with hourly rates of $2 and $4 (off- peak and peak hours). Holonet is connected to two different public networks, which cover most US cities. Hourly surcharges range from a low of $0.95 (off-peak) to a high of about $7.50 (peak), depending on the city you're calling from. For example, calling from Boston would cost a total of $2.95/hour in the evening, while Tucson would be $5.75/hour. Holonet also can make arrangements for local access in many international locations.

Holonet isn't the only company offering this service. PSI (800/827-7482) has World Dial, with a monthly minimum of $9 and hourly charges starting at $1.25/hour (but covers a very small set of cities); Delphi (800/544-4005) doesn't charge for night-time access via Sprintnet or BT Tymnet, but does have a minimum monthly charge of $13; Portal (408/973-9111) has a $20/month charge, but offers very low off-peak rates through Sprintnet and BT Tymnet of $2.50/hour; and WELL (415/332-4335) charges $15/month with a $6/hour fee for access through CompuServe's network.

All these options add up to one answer: yes, you can stay connected while on the road. Choose whatever service fits your budget and style, and you can stay in touch, from Moscow, Russia or Moscow, Idaho.

Joel Snyder is a senior analyst with Opus One, in Tucson, Arizona, specializing in international networking and information systems. Opus One is working with the California State Legislature to bring direct email access to Senators and Assemblymen. Joel can be reached at (602) 324-0494 or via email to jms@Opus1.COM.