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

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Modem Usage Peaks Again

The Division of Information Technology is moving forward on a recommendation to outsource modem service to the campus, and is soliciting Request for Quotes from MCI, AT&T, NetCom, and other vendors.

A Modem Use Committee organized by the Joint Campus Committee on Information Technology (JCCIT) last spring concluded that contracting with a private vendor would be the most effective way of providing modem service to the campus. The recommendation was discussed at the JCCIT meeting on Nov. 17.

Carole A. Barone, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology, told the JCCIT that the campus cannot continue to support a modem bank to meet the demand for service, which is 50 percent higher than it was a year ago.

"We are running out space, and we are running out of battery capacity," Barone said. If growth were to continue at the current rate, she said, "it would be costing us more to support the modem pool than it would to support Network 21 in two years."

Calls to the modem pool reached a new high of 29,877 on Nov. 15. Because of the traffic, it is difficult to get dial-in access to the campus network in the evening.

Speaking of the need to provide the campus with alternative modem service, JCCIT chair David Rocke said, "It is important to protect the ability of faculty to teach, and the ability of students to do their work."

The JCCIT encouraged I.T. to negotiate an agreement in which all campus users would receive some free access. The committee also recommended that I.T. discuss the plan with other campus committees, including the Committee on Academic Planning and Budget Review.