ISC to impose time limits on modem Internet sessions

Fifteen minute express line willFifteen minute express line willalleviate system overload Students and faculty should hear fewer busy signals as they try to gain access to the Internet, according to a new plan proposed by Information Systems and Computing representatives at an open discussion last Friday morning. Early this week, "wartime rationings" will be placed on modem Internet sessions, according to ISC Vice Provost Jim O'Donnell. A two hour limit will be placed on modems running at 14.4 baud and a one hour limit for modems running at 28.8 baud. Internet sessions will end abruptly without warning after the time limit expires. On October 1, an express pool with a 15 minute session limit to allow quick access will be established, according to the Manager of Network Operations Mark Wehrle. These policies will affect students and faculty who do not have ResNet and therefore must use a modem to access the Internet over telephone lines. The Quadrangle is currently the only residence without ResNet, though it is scheduled to be installed next summer. Currently, the University operates just over 600 modem pools. But more than 13,000 individual users accessed these modems during the first two weeks of September, according to Noam Arzt, executive director of Administration and Information Technology Architecture. O'Donnell explained that he would love to continue to give University affiliates unlimited access, but realistically sees that as infeasible. Students and faculty have greeted the policy changes with mixed reactions. College junior Ben Goldberger said he is frustrated that he is never able to get on his modem, which runs at 28.8 kilobytes per second, and thinks the University's proposal may alleviate the clogged modem pool. "The idea of cutting people off the line was the most wonderful idea I ever heard of," he said. But other students and faculty have many unanswered concerns. Eleventh year Molecular Biology graduate student Charles Bailey said he is hoping that a small pool without a time limit will be established. "The time limits are not a bad idea but there is a small segment of the population that needs long term direct action," he added. And other faculty and students are upset that their sessions will end without warning. "It's a bad thing to be disconnected without notice -- anything is better than zapping someone off the line," one person said during the discussion. There are currently no plans to expand the size of the existing "free" modem pools, O'Donnell said. But the University is negotiating a reduced rate for Internet access with a local Internet Service Provider for those who wish to exceed the time limits, he added. Director of Planning and Operations Michael Palladino urged students who live in residences with ResNet to take advantage of the service by purchasing an ethernet card. "There are 6,000 students in residences where ResNet is," he said. "Only 2,600 use ethernet, leaving 3,400 students who may be dialing into the modem pool." Palladino said students can receive ethernet cables to attach to their cards from their residences' front desks.