Like the characters in "Green Acres," people living in rural areas usually don't have all the amenities of city-slickers.
Among other things, local Internet service providers are non-existent in many of Michigan's less-populated areas - that is, until MichNet came along.
The University, along with 10 other publicly supported state universities, is providing coveted local Internet access to geographically remote parts of the state through MichNet, a project organized by Merit Network, Inc.. The dial-in service allows K-12 schools, community colleges and public libraries as well as interested consumers and businesses in rural areas to finally go online without dialing to a long distance number.
Gregory Marks, Merit Network associate director for online services and dial-in project leader, said the program has already seen a tremendous response.
"We have had very heavy use in locations where Internet access was previously unavailable," Marks said. "The response has been very positive."
Sparsely populated regions of the state don't attract major Internet Service Providers, and high-speed Internet connections are not economically viable for many communities. For this reason, many parts of the state previously had to dial in to long-distance connections, making users responsible for standard long-distance charges, in addition to any fees for accessing the Net itself.
This additional charge drastically cut into Internet usage in these regions before MichNet's expansion, Marks said.
"To help manage the transition, a 1-800 number was established allowing educators and librarians to access the Internet from anywhere in the state," Marks said. "There was flat out, solid use on those lines 17 hours a day until local numbers replaced them."
Thanks to a $4 million grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission and the cooperation of various organizations throughout the state, Merit is adding more than 90 new MichNet local dial-in sites and upgrading 40 additional locations.
After the expansion, more than 95 percent of the state's topography will be able to access the Internet through a local phone call to a dial-in site.
Marks said Merit Network is determined to provide an unrestricted window to the Internet, much like the interface available to University students.
"The dial-in systems throughout the state look the same as the system users in Ann Arbor experience," Marks said. "We wanted to avoid the limited options that arise from a system like that used by America Online."
Northern parts of the state are already reaping the benefits of the MichNet expansion. More than 600 different cities and towns experimented with the service during the trial period alone, and the infrastructure is in place for future expansion.
"Once a dial-in line is installed in a community, the cost of adding additional dial-in lines is one-fifth to one-tenth the cost of the first line," Marks said.
Users from rural areas are excited about the new opportunities that MichNet now makes available to them.
"Because it's here, all kinds of things are happening," said Becky Cawley, director of the nine-county Northland Library Cooperative, which is headquartered in Alpena. "There is a biweekly newspaper column in the local paper about the Internet and many small businesses are going online."
Cawley added that because the area is somewhat of a retirement community, a significant portion of Alpena's senior population now is buying computers for the first time since they see the benefits of Internet access.
Sara Behrman, Cawley's counterpart at the Flint installation of the library cooperative, said residents in her area are still learning about the new opportunities the Internet is bringing to them.
"Most of the public is still trying to find out what the Internet is," Behrman said. "They are delighted that they can access the Internet at libraries and find information there with the help of librarians."