Students and faculty who use Qwest's ASU discounted Internet service will not be affected by the company's Internet merger with Microsoft anytime soon, Qwest officials said Tuesday.
Qwest currently offers Internet service to ASU students, faculty and staff for $10.95 per month.
Beginning March 1, all other personal and consumer Qwest Internet accounts will be automatically switched to Microsoft MSN Internet Access service.
"But Qwest's student discounts fall under Qwest's interactive campus accounts, and those accounts will not lose service," Qwest spokeswoman Silvia McLachlan said. "Those accounts will not be migrated to MSN."
McLachlan added that Qwest is still accepting new customers for the student discounted accounts, but officials are figuring out what to do with student discounts in light of the Internet merger with MSN.
"Currently, we are looking for other options on how to deal with the interactive campus accounts," she said. "When we do, we will notify those customers."
Darel Eschbach, assistant vice provost for Information Technology, said he is glad Qwest is continuing the student discounts but has doubts about the promises of low prices for students.
"Everybody is kind of unsure of what Qwest is doing right now," he said. "I will just have to wait and see. If they still haven't raised students' prices by the end of the semester, then I'll be sure they won't raise prices. But they will be committed one way or the other by the end of the semester."
Meanwhile, ASU Information Technology officials are educating students and faculty about other local Internet service providers.
"We are helping students look at alternatives right now," Eschbach said. "We want students to have the best possible service at the lowest possible cost."
Sundial Internet Service, an ISP recommended by ASU Information Technology, was created in anticipation of Qwest's service changes for students.
Sundial creator James Thompson, director of business development for Mesa-based SimpleAccess.net Internet Service, said Sundial is open to students, faculty, staff and anyone who considers themselves a friend of the University.
"We all know where Qwest is going, so I jumped in and got a replacement service running one way or another," Thompson said. "It provides an alternative so kids won't be disappointed if something does happen."
Sundial Internet Service offers unlimited Internet for $10.75 per month, up to five e-mail accounts, personal Web site space and no sign-up fees.
Sundial also offers national roaming so that students can dial up from their dorms or while visiting family out of state, a feature for which Qwest charges an additional fee.
Innovasion and Velocitus ProNet Internet, other student-discounted ISP's recommended by ASU, offer unlimited Internet for $10.95 to $11.95 per month.
For more information on alternative ISP's, visit http://tc2.inre.asu.edu/datacomm/, or visit the Computing Commons on ASU's Main Campus.
Reach the reporter at kristina.davis@asu.edu.
