Is Dial-Up MLS Being Discontinued?

Discussions around using and interfacing with the Church MLS program.
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BrianTAllen-p40
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Is Dial-Up MLS Being Discontinued?

#1

Post by BrianTAllen-p40 »

One of the Bishops in my stake (in Utah) said he got a letter that dial-up was being phased out for MLS connections, around the end of the 2010, and that only connections over the internet (with the Church's hardware firewall I'm sure) would be allowed after that.

He didn't have the letter with him, so I haven't seen it.

Can anyone confirm or debunk this, or shed anymore light on it?

Thanks!
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aebrown
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#2

Post by aebrown »

BrianTAllen wrote:One of the Bishops in my stake (in Utah) said he got a letter that dial-up was being phased out for MLS connections, around the end of the 2010, and that only connections over the internet (with the Church's hardware firewall I'm sure) would be allowed after that.

He didn't have the letter with him, so I haven't seen it.

Can anyone confirm or debunk this, or shed anymore light on it?
No one in our stake (also in Utah) has received such a letter.

Although many units have switched to broadband Internet connections, there are still plenty that are using dial-up. In some areas, adding an Internet connection to each building in the stake would add significant costs, both for installation and ongoing service, so it's understandable that some stake presidents have chosen not to use Budget funds for this purpose. If what you say is true, that would mean that the Church is requiring units to incur this cost. That doesn't seem likely to me, but that's just speculation on my part.

It would be helpful to know to whom the letter was addressed -- was it to all bishops and stake presidents in Utah or US/Canada, to selected bishops, or just to that bishop?
BrianTAllen-p40
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#3

Post by BrianTAllen-p40 »

I agree on the cost for some units.

However, there comes a tipping point where the majority of units already have internet, and the cost of having hundreds of phone lines at Church headquarters and the cost of maintaining the modems and related equipment outweighs that cost (if not in actual dollars at least in terms of return on investment).

I'll see if I can get a copy of the letter from the Bishop, and ask other Bishop's in our stake if they also received it.
russellhltn
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#4

Post by russellhltn »

BrianTAllen wrote:However, there comes a tipping point where the majority of units already have internet, and the cost of having hundreds of phone lines at Church headquarters and the cost of maintaining the modems and related equipment outweighs that cost (if not in actual dollars at least in terms of return on investment).
The dial-up system is a commercial system. The connection is a internet connection with a custom filter that limits what you can connect to. The church doesn't run the modem rack.

However, it's possible that company is exiting the business. But in that case I think we'd all be getting that letter.

A bigger possibility is that a particular phone number is shutting down. The 800 number should still be available, but that might trigger the letter mentioned.
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jdlessley
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#5

Post by jdlessley »

Until broadband is available at every meetinghouse it would be a bit of a stretch to remove the dialup capability for MLS. We have one unit that cannot get broadband because it is just not available. That unit would not be able to connect without dialup. Also, forcing stakes to pay for something they do not have a budget to cover without providing additional funds just does not make sense. We have two units that can have access to broadband but the stake can't afford the install cost and monthly service fees. They are just too high.

We have not received any letter or notice about dialup being discontinued.
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drepouille
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Dual mode

#6

Post by drepouille »

I have configured all admin computers in my stake to auto-detect an Internet connection, and then fail-over to a dial-up connection if necessary. The units in the Metro area can dial a local access number, while the units in the remote rural areas dial an 800 number.

Local access numbers change all the time, so I would not be surprised if we received a letter with new phone numbers.

Dana in Omaha
rmrichesjr
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#7

Post by rmrichesjr »

BrianTAllen wrote:One of the Bishops in my stake (in Utah) said he got a letter that dial-up was being phased out for MLS connections, around the end of the 2010, and that only connections over the internet (with the Church's hardware firewall I'm sure) would be allowed after that.

He didn't have the letter with him, so I haven't seen it.

Can anyone confirm or debunk this, or shed anymore light on it?

Thanks!
Alan_Brown wrote:No one in our stake (also in Utah) has received such a letter.

Although many units have switched to broadband Internet connections, there are still plenty that are using dial-up. In some areas, adding an Internet connection to each building in the stake would add significant costs, both for installation and ongoing service, so it's understandable that some stake presidents have chosen not to use Budget funds for this purpose. If what you say is true, that would mean that the Church is requiring units to incur this cost. That doesn't seem likely to me, but that's just speculation on my part.

It would be helpful to know to whom the letter was addressed -- was it to all bishops and stake presidents in Utah or US/Canada, to selected bishops, or just to that bishop?
Just a reminder about old technology. Internet connection does not necessarily imply broadband. I know of people who still connect their home PCs to the internet via their phone lines--dial-up internet. I understand there are some areas of the USA where broadband is not available but dial-up internet is. Obviously, some provision would have to be made for firewall protection IF that might be what the Church might be moving to.
lajackson
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#8

Post by lajackson »

jdlessley wrote:We have one unit that cannot get broadband because it is just not available. That unit would not be able to connect without dialup. Also, forcing stakes to pay for something they do not have a budget to cover without providing additional funds just does not make sense.
We are in the situation JD Lessley is in. Unless the Church is interested in providing satellite internet service to several of our buildings, I think the dial-up will be around for a while still.

We have not received the letter.
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