Starting in April, students who have Internet accounts at San Diego State University will be charged for off-campus access.
Through an agreement with Znet, a local Internet service provider (ISP), SDSU will offer unlimited Internet access for $15 per month.
The service is called Aznet.
The Aznet Plan
For $15 per month, students will get unlimited Internet access and an e-mail account.
Students will still be able to access their e-mail accounts at no charge from off-campus locations. Internet and e-mail access from the library and campus computer labs will continue to be free as well.
Faculty and staff will continue to receive all services at no charge.
Joe Vasquez, director of telecommunications and business services at SDSU, told The Daily Aztec last semester that students will have to purchase a software package from Aztec Shops in order to access the Internet through Znet. He said it should cost about $5.
Znet has said its modem policy will be strictly “no busys,” with an expected user-to-modem ratio of 8-12:1.
Accounts are now ready and can be remotely activated at the Aznet Web site.
Sign-up procedures are still being scheduled due to the late arrival of installation software.
Users will be charged $14.95 per month, with a setup fee of $14.95. The setup fee can be waived by prepaying for six months of service.
In addition to unlimited Internet access, users will get 10 megabytes of combined e-mail and World Wide Web file space and 800-number technical support.
To sign up, go to www.aznet.net.
However, Aznet is not an SDSU student’s only option for accessing the Internet. Many other ISPs offer access for higher or lower prices than Aznet, with different options.
STUDENeT & FlashNet
Through an agreement with STUDENeT, FlashNet is providing unlimited Internet access for $10 per month with a one-year subscription.
STUDENeT is a student-oriented Web site developed by SDSU graduate Chance Roth. Roth is an authorized dealer with Flashnet.
If you become a member of STUDENeT, you can receive Internet access for $99 a year with a one-time setup fee of $30. STUDENeT is located at http://apple. sdsu.edu/STUDENeT, and membership is free.
FlashNet gives its dealers a commission
of $10 for each person they sign up, but Roth is going to give his commissions back to the students.
“I’m going to give them a check for $10,” he said. “This will make the (price for FlashNet access) $120 for the first year.”
This can be paid upfront, or in 12 monthly installments with a credit card.
Roth said the second year will be $99, or $8.25 per month. “I don’t know anything cheaper than that,” he said.
STUDENeT members who sign up for Flashnet access will receive one year of unlimited Internet access, one megabyte of Web space for a personal home page, an e-mail account and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
According to Roth, the user-to-modem ratio at FlashNet is 10:1, and users will receive technical support through FlashNet.
To sign up, send contact information via e-mail to Roth at studenet@geocities.com, or call him at 224-0479.
American Digital Network (ADN)
ADN is a local ISP and a network integration company.
Though focused primarily on business customers, ADN says it has the best and highest-quality Internet access in town.
“We have fewer busy signals and faster connections to the heart of the Internet,” said Bob Betros, manager of network integrations at ADN.
ADN is the highest-priced ISP in San Diego at $22 per month, but Betros said it makes sense for the average Joe to come to ADN.
“We guarantee you can get in when you need to and have a hassle-free connection for an extra $5 a month,” he said of the com-
pany, which has a 9:1 user-to-modem ratio.
In order to support its mostly corporate customers, ADN must spend more money on access infrastructure, Betros said. It has three upstream links to the Internet so that if one goes down, the other two can continue to route users to the Internet.
Each month, for $22, users will get 300 hours of Internet access. Betros said ADN does not offer unlimited access because of users who permanently connect clog up the lines.
Users also get a five-megabyte file transfer protocol site, an e-mail account and a one-megabyte personal Web page. They will also be able to attend a 2 1/2-hour Internet class and receive around-the-clock support.
To sign up for an ADN account, call 576-4272, extension 280.
