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UIUCnet Dialup: free network connection

CITES > dialup > free dialup

UIUCnet Dialup is a free service available to all UIUC affiliates. Unlike UIUCnet Premier, however, the amount of time you can use UIUCnet Dialup is limited, and during peak periods of use you are likely to encounter busy signals.

There are a set number of free UIUCnet Dialup modems, and this number will not be increased if the number of users increases. (The UIUCnet Premier modem pool is scaled to the number of subscribers.)

Time limits, storing unused time, and purchasing additional time

Most UIUCnet Dialup users receive 20 free hours per week; any unused hours go into a bank that can store up to 40 hours per user. You can also purchase additional time at a rate of $.30 per hour.

However, there are some exceptions to this general rule:

• Students living in dorm rooms wired for Ethernet are issued only 5 hours per week, with a maximum bank of 20 hours. This helps encourage residence hall users to use the network connection freely available to them already.
  
  
• 5 hours per week are also allotted to certain persons who are not technically UIUC students, faculty, or staff, including:
• Extra help staff members
• Students enrolled in Intensive English Institute (IEI) or Executive Development Center (EDC) courses
• Visiting scholars not on UIUC payroll
  

What if I need more hours?

Normally, if all of the hours in your dialup bank account have been used, you would not be allowed to dial in until more hours are added at the end of the week. However, you can sign up to be billed for terminal server usage over your free allocation, at the rate of $.30/hour. You can now sign up for or cancel this online at  https://uofitelecom.cso.uiuc.edu/changeservice_WebTSO.cgi/sourcehtml/ndo/termserv/TSfacstaff_Entry.html

How can I find out how many hours I have in my account?

You can securely access this information on the Web at 
https://www-s7.cites.uiuc.edu/termserv/myhours.cgi

At this time, the Hours server cannot adjust for the time you've spent online during the current session, if any. In addition to showing how many hours you currently have in your account, it will also note whether you are signed up to be billed for extra hours or are a subscriber to the Premier service.

For more information, including how to configure your system to communicate with UIUCnet Dialup, see the UIUC Dialup Access page.

If I have an ISDN modem, can I use it with UIUCnet Dialup?

The dialup pool is capable of handling higher-speed ISDN connections. (However, CITES does not provide end-user support for this option. If you choose to use an ISDN modem with the campus modem pools, you will be responsible for resolving any problems you experience.)