Napster ban lifted at U. Wisconsin-Oshkosh, users urged to act responsibly

Amanda Schuldt
University Wire
02-09-2001
(Advance-Titan) (U-WIRE) OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Internet costs might increase this year's bill by as much as seven times -- totalling about $210,000 -- if ResNet users don't take precautions to keep Internet access at maximum availablilty.

Berens said a possible way to pay the bulked-up bill is to raise ResNet fees or charge more to students living in residence halls.
Since students using ResNet Internet access were given permission to use file sharing programs like Napster last week, John Berens, assistant vice chancellor of information technology, has provided a list of requests to keep the maximum amount of bandwidth available at all times.

UW-Oshkosh is charged for Internet access based on the amount of bandwidth used each year.

The university's Internet service is provided through WiscNet, along with about 500 customers, including all UW System universities, public school districts and some private colleges and community governments.

Through this program, fees are applied depending on how much Internet access is used.

Berens said WiscNet bills Oshkosh for double the amount of Internet access used in the previous year because the university's Internet use traditionally doubles annually.

"On the average, you can expect that as the Internet becomes more basic to what we do, the usage will double each year," Berens said. Use of Napster and other file sharing programs accounted for about 65 percent of Oshkosh's bandwidth last semester.

While Oshkosh was charged about $30,000 for Internet use this year, Berens said that total will grow substantially if students continue to misuse file sharing programs.

"Every campus is facing an astronomical bill," he said. "Oshkosh is certainly not the highest."

To prevent additional costs, Berens said students using Napster and similar programs should use the services during off-peak hours -- between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.

Additionally, users should completely close Napster when not in use. If not completely shut down, the computer can still work as a server, supplying files to users worldwide and taking up unnecessary bandwidth space.

"They (Napster) specifically designed it so as long as your computer is turned on, your files are available to the rest of the world," Berens said.

So, to prevent others from using Oshkosh's bandwidth space, he suggests positioning the mouse over the Napster icon after closing the program on a PC. Then, click the right mouse button and select "exit." If asked, "Would you like to enable your file server?" Berens said to click "No."

Chancellor Richard Wells has met with other UW System chancellors to discuss ways to deter costs of increased bandwidth use.

"It presents a real problem in the sense of how we're going to provide support," Wells said. "We want to add as few fees to students as we have to, but it all depends on what (students) do to reduce usage."

Wells and the other chancellors met last week to brainstorm solutions to pay for the inflated bills.

One solution the chancellors discussed was to request additional funding from the state.

A Board of Regents meeting this Thursday and Friday also will address the problem. Wells said the chancellors will likely spend the next few months in discussions with students and experts to develop a solution that best serves everyone.

UW-Oshkosh's Internet use averages about eight megabits at any time. Berens said he'd like to see the average closer to two or three megabits.



(C) 2001 Advance-Titan via U-WIRE