Dial-up Access (modem pool) going away – final notice
June 18, 2009
The following has been sent to all recent users of USM’s dial-up internet access service. If you have used the service in the past or have planned on using it, please read on.Over the past several years the community of Internet service providers has grown greatly in the southern Maine area. Many of these offer low cost high-speed connectivity. So prevalent and inexpensive are these providers that last year the University outsourced the dial-up access (or modem pool) service to a third party.The University’s finances aside, the use and utility of the University’s dial-up access has continued to decline considerably each year to the point where it is no longer a cost-effective service to offer.
On June 30th, 2009 the University of Southern Maine will discontinue it’s contract and discontinue offering this service to our community.
USM is not alone in this step, one campus of the University system had discontinued service on December 31st, 2008. The remaining campuses all have stated intent to discontinue in 2009.
If you are in a situation where dial-up access is your only solution, the Maine Public Advocate’s web site (http://www.state.me.us/meopa/internet/) has a very informative site listing and comparing many providers in Maine, with rates for dial-up access are as low as $5.50/month
