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            Auburn University - University Relations
                         (334) 844-9999
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8/15/95                                   Bob Lowry

AU, MCI TO OFFER BROAD INTERNET ACCESS IN LEE COUNTY
     AUBURN -- Auburn University and MCI Communications Corp., have 
signed an agreement under which MCI will provide off-campus access
to the  Internet to AU faculty, staff and students and Lee County
public schools.
     The service will also be offered to Lee County 
elementary-secondary school administrators, teachers, students and
their  families, and Auburn alumni living in Lee County, says James
Stone,  executive director of AU's Division of
Telecommunications/ETV.
     "Auburn University is very concerned about making our entire 
community more computer accessible," says Stone.  "I would hope it 
(off-campus service) would make the community more attractive to
those  who come looking for a business environment or a new place
to live.
     "It will show the Lee County area as being progressive and
gives  Auburn an opportunity to experiment inside this access area. 
Ideally,  one day Auburn will be in  a position to use what it
learns from this  exercise so that we can become more proficient in
overall outreach and  making university resources more accessible."
     Stone says AU hopes to have the service -- which will provide 
full graphic displays on the World Wide Web -- available by the
start of  fall quarter on Sept. 21.
     Fifteen hours of dialup access to the Internet through 
"AU-Access" will be available to AU students, faculty and staff for
$12 a  month, with no sign-up or registration fee.  Additional time
will be  billed by MCI at 75 cents per hour. Non-AU subscribers
would pay $12.50 a  month for the same service.
     MCI, which will market "AU Access" through local
representatives  and an 800-number, will provide the necessary
software for the connection.
     An even faster Internet connection, using Integrated Services 
Digital Network lines as an alternative to standard analog phone
lines,  will also be available. But Stone says no pricing has been
established  yet for ISDN service.
     Stone says AU pursued the agreement with MCI because of a need
to  improve remote access to the university computer network and
the need to  expand AU's resources to the community.
     A study during winter quarter showed that less than 10 percent
of  off-campus calls through AU's existing modem pools were getting
through,  said Stone.
     "We were faced with either a major overhaul of
university-owned  and operated equipment and procuring a large
number of new circuits to  serve off-campus," he said. "When he
looked at the dollars and cents, we  began looking at other
alternatives."
               Stone says AU representatives have already discussed the
service  with officials of the Auburn and Opelika city schools and
also plan  meetings with the county schools.
     "We're encouraging these school systems to begin serious
efforts  to network themselves," he says. "We're offering to help
and consult with  them on technical matters."
      The Division of University Computing will continue to make
its  current dialup service available, but there are no plans to
expand it.  Stone says the "AU-Access" through MCI will provide
dialup access to  AU-NET and the Internet. Modem speeds up to 28.8
Kbps will be supported  for SLIP, PPP, and terminal connections.  
     Other features of AU-Access include:
     **   Modem speeds of up to 28.8 Kbps.
     **   64 Kbps (and possibly 128 Kbps) service available via
          ISDN,  probably in early 1996. 
     **   Large number of modems/ports (virtually no busy signals).
     **   Dedicated Internet access circuits for AU-Access (large 
          numbers of dialup users can surf the Internet without
          affecting Internet  access of campus users, or vice
          versa).
     **   Multiprotocol support (TCP/IP, IPX, Appletalk).  In
          addition  to the TCP/IP protocols used on the Internet,
          departmental file servers  can be made accessible for
          telecommuting faculty and staff.  Other  services may be
          offered utilizing Novell's IPX or AppleTalk in the 
          future.  K-12 schools may elect to make their file
          servers available.
     **   AU-Access servers connected to AU-NET via ethernet,
          providing fast, low-delay connections.
     **   24x7, 365 day/year help desk available via 1-800 number
     **   Long-distance access to AU-NET via 1-800 number for 10
          cents a  minute surcharge (students at home for break or
          weekend, faculty at  conferences, etc.).  Local-call
          access can be arranged for users  travelling to other
          locations served by campus MCI Internet.
     **   Easy-to-install software available for Windows and Mac
          users  for small duplication fee (alternate distribution
          means are under reviews to eliminate fee for AU users).

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     CONTACT: Stone, 334/844-4110 (jstone@telecom.auburn.edu; or
Larry  Owen, campus network administrator, 334/844-4110
(owen@noc.auburn.edu)