Brief

EZ-Remote future uncertain:After losing approximately one-half of its customer base and operating at a financial loss these past two years, EZ-Remote, Cornell's modem dial-up service, faces an uncertain future. A service of Cornell Information Technologies (CIT), EZ-Remote had, at its peak, more than 10,000 users in its free and subscription pools. In recent years, however, an increase in services providing faster access to the Internet was accompanied by a drop in EZ-Remote subscriptions. Today, EZ-Remote has approximately 5,000 paid subscribers, many of whom have shared subscriptions (used by small groups of students sharing an off-campus residence, or by households).

Preliminary financial analysis indicates that CIT would need to drop both shared and group subscriptions (for departmental use only, this allows a group of faculty and/or staff members to share access to the campus network) and more than double the current rates (presently $102/year) to bring EZ-Remote back into balance.

With an increase this large, EZ-Remote's pricing enters the range of prices offered by external Internet service providers. Soon, CIT will start a competitive bid process to evaluate other possibilities for modem service. The goal is to finish this process in spring 2003; changes in dial-up service would occur in the fall.

As FY04 budget planning begins, CIT advises budget planners to be conservative by setting aside no less than $20/month per subscription for dialup service. The possibility also exists that Express Lane, the free dialup service, will be terminated altogether. Departments that rely on Express Lane should plan accordingly.

To check the status of EZ-Remote, visit http://www.cit.cornell.edu/ezremote/. To contact CIT with questions or concerns, send e-mail to ez-remote-info@cornell.edu.