Volume 4. No 3 Information Technology News of the University of California, Davis November 1995

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Outsource Modem Service?

Committee Says Campus Must Provide New Options

Even though the campus modem pool has more than quadrupled in size in the past two years, callers still encounter busy signals. And those seeking modem service aren't the only ones complaining. At 10 o'clock at night it is difficult to get a phone line into campus - a situation which hinders service for dial-up alarm systems in off-campus buildings. To handle the increase in modem traffic and help alleviate the busy signal problem, 72 new trunks were brought into campus Nov. 1, and 96 more trunk lines will be added by Nov. 15.

As one faculty member said, "It's not just frustrating; it's not safe."

The skyrocketing demand for network services is what's causing the congestion, and the campus cannot expand its modem pool enough to meet the ever-growing need. A special Modem Use Committee (MUC) formed last spring to examine the issue believes outsourcing modem service is the most viable option for the Davis campus.

In the past year, 240 modems have been added to the campus modem pool, bringing the total to 507. On Wednesday, Oct. 18, daily calls peaked at 27,520 - 151% of last year's peak reached on Thursday, June 8.

"It's a bad situation and something has to be done ASAP," says David Rocke, chair of the 1995-96 Joint Campus Committee on Information Technology (JCCIT).

"UC Davis is one of many institutions across the country that must look at an efficient and effective way of providing modem service to the campus," says Carole A. Barone, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology. "We are investigating the MUC's recommendation to outsource modem service and are in the process of soliciting Request for Quotes from MCI, AT&T, NetCom, and other vendors.

"It is likely that a mix of free and subscription services will be offered," says Barone. Doug Hartline, Chief Operating Officer for the Division of Information Technology, cautions departments against finding interim solutions. "Our goal is to implement a solution that provides efficient and reliable modem service as soon as possible," says Hartline. "Departments which try to 'skirt' the issue by installing their own modems will only complicate the problem because the campus communication system will still be overloaded with calls from off-campus," he adds.

When the modem use issue surfaced last spring, the JCCIT organized the MUC. Geoffrey Wandesforde-Smith chaired the committee that was charged with suggesting alternative ways of providing modem service. Committee members included Caroline Bledsoe, Paul Davis, Kathy Dixon, Richard Falk and Rodger Hess (ex-officio).

The MUC's recommendation to outsource modem service is being reviewed by the JCCIT and the CAPBR (Committee on Academic Planning and Budget Review).

The recommendation to outsource modem service is based on the findings included in a report prepared by Paul Davis. Here are just some of the MUC's findings:

• Expenses for modem support, once virtually nothing, now exceed $300,000 a year. At the current rate of growth, within two years modem expenses could surpass the expenses associated with running the entire campus network.

• The campus has exhausted available space for new modems, and 30 percent of the voice system battery is commissioned to provide backup power to the modem pool.

• Approximately 220 of the 350 trunk lines connecting the campus telephone switch with Pacific Bell are used to service calls to the modem bank from off campus. (To handle the increase in modem traffic, 192 more trunk lines are being added to campus.)

• Campus telephone users now pay for the modem bank - a subsidy that is risking the quality of campus phone service. The telephone rates were established to pay for service and maintenance of the campus telephone system, and now money earmarked for that service is being diverted to cover the costs of campus modem service. Recent calculations show that each campus telephone user is now paying $37 a year to subsidize the modem service.

• Campus telephone users are less likely to use the modem pool than students and other community members at large. Campus faculty and staff will increasingly have a direct connection to the campus network and, therefore, do not need to use the modem bank during the day.

Peak daytime use is on Monday, and peak nighttime use is on Thursday.

Each of the modems in the campus pool answers between 37 and 95 calls per day. The average call duration is 12 minutes for general dial-up modems and 29 minutes for SLIP/PPP service.

Any comments or suggestions regarding the issue of outsourcing campus modem service are welcome. Send e-mail to Doug Hartline at jdhartline@ucdavis.edu.