Center for Information Technology Services
Campus Substitute for Modem Pool,
Internet Service Provider Partnership
November 2003 update
Goal:
To implement a program, in partnership with a company, that would offer UMB faculty, staff, and students discounted rates for Internet service and provide reliable remote access to campus computing services.
Objectives:
- To define the requirements for a campus ISP service,
- To find a suitable campus partner for providing this service,
- To implement the service in partnership with the identified vendor.
Current State:
Faculty, students, and staff can now subscribe with an ISP which has partnered with UMB, and which offers competitively priced or discounted rates for Internet service.
Schedule:
2002
Nov: Gathered information. Researched the marketplace and needs of customers, e.g., found other campuses who have undertaken similar projects and talked to them.
Dec: Conducted employee and student surveys assessing ISP preferences.
Jan: Conducted Focus Groups to interpret data and enhance the articulation of campus preferences.
Mar: Met with Legal and Procurement Services to determine parameters of partnering with a private company for remote access.
April: Negotiated possible rates and plans with private company(ies). Drafted grant proposal for possible partial funding of infrastructure build out and authentication/authorization mechanism.
Summer 2003: Tested ISP services, inspected infrastructure, developed language for announcements, designed web site with links to vendors
Aug: Made announcement of ISP services, provide web sites for information and registration, continued to negotiate services
Oct: Updated campus web information, Reissued announcement to UMB Community, Invited ISPs to Market on campus during Founders Week
Dec. "Shut-down" of the campus modem pool.
2004: Pursue a more comprehensive remote access solution
Outcome:
Availability of facile, low-cost access to the Internet and to campus IT resources for faculty, students, and staff.
