"C. Daniel Chase" wrote:

> ...  Also, due to the limited lines, when
> advising your classes of the availability of this service, please highly
> recommend that they obtain an off-campus Internet Service Provider (ISP.)
> See: http://www.utc.edu/helpdesk/isp.html ... We are also suggesting that
> any Faculty and Staff using this service to obtain an ISP by Fall also.

For those faculty and staff (and especially students on a budget)
concerned with having to spend $20 per month on an ISP account with a
local or national service provider, you might want to try NetZero
(www.netzero.net).  They offer nationwide access to the Internet for
FREE and have local access numbers in Chattanooga.  You also get a
free e-mail account.  The catch (of *course* there is a catch :) is
that when you dial up via NetZero they put a pop-up window with
advertising on your screen, which you cannot get rid of while you are
on-line (if you kill the window it kills your connection) ... you can
move it wherever you want to on the screen, though, to get it out of
your way.  It works with all popular browsers under Windows 95/98/NT.
They are working on a Mac version but it is not available yet.

I have not used this service myself (I'm paying $20 per month to
Chattanooga Online and am happy with their service) but a friend is
using it and likes it fine.  He says he doesn't have problems getting
on and the speed of the connections is as good as other ISPs.  Your
mileage may vary ... but you can't complain about the cost.  Anyway,
just one more alternative out there for those who need network access.

Joe Dumas