County employees pay fee for Internet through UA

"For years the county has used this access," said Carol Bonchalk, who supports collaboration between the University of Arizona and the county. "But this year the fee is a legal requirement."

Tuesday, the Pima County Board of Supervisors added an amendment to an existing intergovernmental agreement for an annual $1,752 fee to be paid by the county in exchange for router access to the UA Net network and subsequently to the Internet.

The county has been able to access the network free of charge since 1991, said Dan Roman, manager of network operations for UA's Center for Computing and Information Technology.

"In the last 12 months we have seen an increase in network activity (by the county)," he said. "So our resources have to increase to supply their demand."

Roman said a formal agreement was drafted last year, but this is the first time the UA solicited payment.

The agreement, which began July 1 and will end June 30, 1998, will enable county employees to access the Internet over a link for research, vendor inquiry, to provide information to surrounding residents and to communicate with other government agencies.

Roman said the UA purchases Internet access through Sprint.

Cost was one reason the county decided to link with the UA's network, Bonchalk said.

"It is about half of what it would cost to go through U S West - in other words it is a lot less," said John Powers, a technical support specialist with network services for the county.

He said the fee plus the $250 to $300 U S West charges for monthly line-connection charge is much less than the $13,000 to $23,000 it would cost not working with UA.

"There are some disadvantages," Powers said. "We have to compete with the traffic from your campus."

Linda Drew, principal computing manager for CCIT, compared the UA Net network to a telephone line connecting the county and the university.

"The Net is our (the university's) main backbone," she said. "It is connected to almost all buildings on campus."

Drew said the network is a fiber that carries traffic around the university, to school districts, libraries and to the Pima County community.

The network has three university fiber hubs: the Computer Center, Arizona Health Sciences Center and the Gould-Simpson Building, she said.

"Students are connected to the network when they check their e-mail," she said.

Bonchalk said a couple of hundred county employees take advantage of the access each day.

The university is offering the service to the county, Roman said, because it has an obligation to work with state agencies.

"I think the legislative state and the university are in benefit for each other," he said.

Roman said more than 100 different agencies are connected with UA, Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University.

"Without the agreement UA could have cut our connection," Bonchalk said. "Then we would all be in a scramble."