The Telecommunications Center has installed a thirty-six count multimode fiber optics cable backbone to circle the campus. The backbone begins at Baxter Hall, runs along fraternity row, to the E. F. Yerby Center, Southern Culture, Conner Hall, and back To Baxter Hall. Seven buildings (Baxter Hall, Athletic Office, Old Chemistry, Power Plant , Yerby Center, Weir Hall, and the Super Computer Center) are designated as strategic sites on the backbone. Buildings located in close proxemity of the strategic sites are then connected to those sites. There is also a twenty-four count that connects the Old Chemistry Building and Weir Hall. This provides redundancy for the Lyceum, Library, and Conner Hall. A second twenty-four count fiber connects the Old Power Plant to the Southern Culture Building. This provides redundancy plus provides facilites for direct connect fiber optics connections. Requests for direct connect fibers between buildings must be justified. The gigabit switches that will be in the strategic sites will provide all necessary connectivity to the backbone and world. If a direct connect is justified, a charge will be made each month for each fiber. We strongly urge departments not to use direct connect fibers.