Free the ADN-ii

That's right, free. $0.00 to install, and $0.00 per month.

The proper use of networked services is rapidly becoming crucial to the functioning of a modern university. It is critical that the UIC campus network be completed, and that it reach into every nook and cranny where it could be useful.

Dr. David Broski, vice chancellor for academic affairs (and new interim chancellor), concluded that our old arrangement of charging for installs and monthly usage was hampering our ability to expand the campus network rapidly enough. The old way built the network we have today, but we need to move forward more rapidly and to include all departments, large and small, rich and poor.

So, the monthly ADN charges will be dropped, starting July 1. And the installation charge will also be dropped if the install is done on a department-wide basis. To be connected, you need a personal computer with an ethernet card. We can supply the card for about $100 if your personal computer didn't come with one.

Because there is no longer any marginal cost for getting a connection, we expect a significant increase in the demand for them. Of course, the rate at which we can install connections is finite, so we need to change our procedures to increase our efficiency and to fairly prioritize the order of operations. Our best shot at satisfying demand in a timely and orderly way is to deal with departments as a whole. Rather than travel from one building to another, doing one connection at a time, we prefer to wire an entire phone closet, an entire floor, or even better, a whole building, all in one fell swoop.

• "Sweat Equity" Requirements
• The New Procedure

In the best of cases, we'll enable all the phone jacks in a department at once, to anticipate future expansion. In other cases, once a phone closet is wired, coming back to enable an additional wall jack is usually easy. But, to be fair, new wiring in a department that has already been wired will be given low priority.

We'll also be able to expand the network faster if the department, through its REACH representative, helps us install the necessary ethernet cards and network software. We will of course provide training and troubleshooting.

Are you interested? Please don't inundate Nancy with individual calls; your departmental REACH person is the person you should contact to get things going. He or she will know what is happening at your department level, and can coordinate things appropriately. So be sure to tell your REACH person if you're interested in a connection.

We hope this new network initiative will let us complete the campus network as quickly as possible, in a fair and orderly way. The day will soon come when everyone with a need is connected, and we can use the network to its fullest in furthering UIC's mission.