NCD brings universities up to speed

Network Computing Devices is bundling its ThinSTAR thin client with Northern Telecom's 1-Meg Modem to bring fast Internet access to universities. The bundled solution will be installed on campuses, making network access a utility.

Using the 1-Meg Modem, which supports the "Lite" version of asymmetrical digital subscriber line, universities can provide high-speed access over telephone lines, reducing the cost of wiring dorms for Internet access or distance learning. The 1-Meg Modem alternative can also eliminate the need to manage, upgrade and maintain unwieldy distributed PC networks.

The thin-client approach centralizes management and control, and it costs less than outfitting a university with a slew of personal computers, said Lorraine Hariton, senior vice president of development and marketing at NCD.

"A university could put the lower-cost [ThinSTAR] device in the dorms and manage it centrally. The 1-Meg Modem gives them the bandwidth to do that," she said. Students can access specific applications located on a central server. The applications are then transmitted over the existing telephone wiring using the 1-Meg Modem. Software is upgraded at the central server.

The modem is deployed at Cornell University, Northern Illinois University and several service providers. Several Internet service providers are also interested in the solution for small business and home users, said Brian Marlier, vice president of sales for ISPs at Nortel.

Competitive local exchange carrier Sage Telecom has received certification from the Texas Public Utilities Commission to provide local service throughout the state and has signed an interconnection agreement with Southwestern Bell.

Phone Michigan, a CLEC that serves 20,000 residential and business users in the Flint and Saginaw areas, plans to expand to the more populous southeast Michigan market. The company is building a 1000-mile fiber network and has agreements to serve several school districts.

Lucent's 5ESS is the switch of choice for two new CLEC installations. US LEC has installed eight of the 11 it agreed to purchase, completing an installation last week in Orlando. ICG Netcom has turned up service in Atlanta using a Lucent 5ESS and a 43-mile Sonet network.

Royce Holland's Allegiance Telecom has received CLEC status in Massachusetts and will deploy a network to serve the Boston area. Allegiance is targeting 24 major metropolitan markets.