Closure of University dialup facility
08 May 2007
Alternative ways of connecting to the University network from off-campus
After a decade of service, the University dialup facility will close on 31 July 2007. The number of users regularly dialing into the University network has been falling month on month for the last couple of years and the level of usage is now such that it is no longer cost effective to maintain the service. The following information is being provided to help those users who are still using the service to help them find alternative arrangements for gaining access to the University network.
As the fall-off in usage is attributable to the rapid take up of broadband (ADSL/cable) services in the domestic environment, users are encouraged to migrate to an broadband service as this provides relatively large volumes of bandwidth at a reasonable price. After some consideration, ITS has decided not to advise people to take out contracts with specific "approved" suppliers, and recommends that each individual looks at the following web pages to make an informed decision. Users are also encouraged to discuss the various broadband offerings with colleagues and friends, many of whom will have already migrated to an broadband service.
If users wish to continue using a modem to connect to the University (there are still some areas of the country where broadband is not available), the following ISPs still provide a basic dialup offering although users should be aware that there may only be a minimal level of support provided with the products:
The following web pages provided by the University may also be of interest to those individuals using broadband and dialup services provided by the companies detailed above:
Queries relating to the closure of the University service and provisioning of new domestic services such as broadband should be directed to the Faculty helpdesks in the first instance.