Officials: No verdict on who will run Webmail

University officials still haven't decided which company, Microsoft Corp. or Google Inc., will replace Penn's current Webmail service.

Officials said earlier this year that they would select a company to host all undergraduate e-mail accounts by about this time, at the latest.

"We are working with a student committee to make a recommendation," said Ira Winston, the School of Arts and Sciences' information technology executive director, in an e-mail yesterday. He did not give a time frame for when the decision would be finalized.

The student committee has "been meeting weekly and has had presentations from both Microsoft and Google," Winston said.

Winston said he could not say which company the administration prefers until the final decision is made, citing a risk of "compromising our position with the two vendors."

The switch from University mail was scheduled to begin in January. Neither provider would charge Penn for the service. Students would keep their Penn e-mail addresses.

Officials have said that they are making the switch in part to conserve resources by removing the need for Penn to upgrade its own system. SAS Webmail has occasionally fallen victim to shutdowns.

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