The UA Center for Computer and Information Technology will begin a program to provide Internet service to the faculty, students and staff of the university in their homes.

The program allows the same power and technology that one would have through their office or lab computer, said Edward Frohling, computing manager for CCIT.

Set to run for nine months, the program costs $14.85 for 120 hours of Internet access each month, with a charge of $2.40 each additional hour, the program's advertisements said. A $25 set up fee will also be charged.

The program is designed for the almost 35,000 people of the UA community, said David Murphy, a computer communication specialist for CCIT.

The subscription price is similar to those of commercial Internet providers, Murphy said.

The program is in a pilot stage, he said. If it works, it will be picked up permanently after the nine-month testing period.

The program is growing in stages to accumulate data to establish the program's economic feasibility for CCIT and for the user group, Frohling said.

"What we're trying to see is how this is accepted by the user group," Murphy said. He said there are now 200 subscribers, nearly 50 percent of the program's goal.

The program has a maximum of 507 slots for the trial period, Frohling said.

The user base makes CCIT's program distinct from commercial Internet access programs, Murphy said.

Starting out small is the best thing an Internet service provider can do to compete with the larger companies, said Stephanie Murray, a junior majoring in English literature and correspondent for "INTERNET!", a locally produced magazine show that will air nationally on PBS. She said starting small helps eliminate the problems with logging on and downloading that some bigger carriers face when there are too many people on line.

Commercial Internet service providers, like America Online, Murray said, offer many applications and options, but they can get quite expensive.

"If you're just going to be on line for 20 minutes a week to look up information for your kid's project, they're good," Murray said. He said if a user plans to spend serious time on the World Wide Web, a smaller service provider might be a better choice.

The major providers charge by the hour, while a smaller providers offer a large or even unlimited amount of time for a flat rate, Murray said. He said this is usually a better deal for most.

Unlike dialing into the campus computer system through SABIO, Frohling said, a subscription gains the user full, direct access to the Internet. He said access includes the use of Netscape and other graphical network browsers.

Electronic mail will not be available through the Internet service program because it is already available to the UA community, Frohling said.

Ninety-six new modems were installed for the test at a cost of about $100,000, Frohling said. He said these will be able to send out 50,000 to 60,000 bytes of information per second. The number of modems will also lessen the likelihood of a busy signal, he said.

Busy signals are among the problems faced by Internet users, Murray said.

The program's success or failure will have no effect on the applications available at access sites around campus, said Barbara Hoffman, computer manager for CCIT.

The open lab program will continue to grow, Hoffman said. She said plans for a new lab and improved software are in the works.

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According to The List, a directory of Internet service providers known to be active, there are 2,897 ISP's in the world. These range in size and price.

• America Online: The largest Internet service. It costs $9.95 for five hours a month, and $2.95 each additional hour. AOL offers electronic mail, chat rooms and full World Wide Web access. Some features and pages are exclusive to AOL, like the on-line Spin Magazine.

• StarNet: The ISP of The Arizona Daily Star has nearly 7,500 subscribers. It costs $20 to $24 a month, with a $25 set-up fee. StarNet offers e-mail and full Web access at that flat rate. Hours are unlimited, but the service requests that users only log on for four hours at a time.

• PrimeNet: They say they are America's premier ISP. The service offers e-mail, chat rooms and full Web access. The subscription cost is $22.95 for 150 hours a month. Each additional hour costs $1.

• Compuserve: Of similar size to AOL, it offers the same rates, but includes a special frequent user rate of $24.95 for 20 hours, and $1.95 each additional hour. Compuserve offers the similar options to AOL, but charges for e-mail.

Sources: Internet Underground magazine (January 1996), StarNet, PrimeNet, The List.

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Wildcat Web Links: THE LIST allows users to search for information on the world's 2,897 Internet service providers

http://thelist.iworld.com/Florida.html

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