The students, accustomed to free service, refused to pay and continued to call in on the school's small free modem pool. Busy signals only increased. But there is no guarantee that students will pay even this reduced rate. At the same time, working with a small and harried staff, Siff was leery of getting into the dial-up business in a big way. The Internet Slug Service Provider, named after the school's banana slug mascot, depends on a commercial Internet provider to supply wiring and hardware, but offers user support through the school's pre-existing computer help desk.
Support needs usually place a huge burden on an Internet service provider.
UC-Santa Cruz, on the other hand, expects to offer those services and can provide them more cheaply. Siff admits there is no guarantee the scheme will succeed. But he's optimistic. This is a perfect accommodation. All rights reserved.