The recent congestion on Eastern’s computer network is a result of the continual increase in the use of the system, and the university is currently awaiting equipment that will make the network faster.

In addition to an increase in student use, more and more professors are offering information and classes on the Internet, and requiring more out of class work on the Internet further clogging the strained system, said Bill Witsman, acting director of Information Technology Services, Monday.

“People are using computing for more of their everyday activities,” Witsman said. “It kind of pushed us over the top.”

Witsman also said it’s normal for the server to slow down at this time in the semester as well as during midterms and finals when Internet traffic is at its peak.

“It’s fairly normal this time of the semester,” he said. “We’ll see some improvements yet this week.”

Money that has been allocated out of taxpayers dollars and bonds for residence hall networks is being used to buy equipment that will help better direct Internet traffic, but not restrict the amount of users, Witsman said.

The equipment to make a faster network is arriving this week and will begin to better direct the traffic and will continue to maintain a fast moving network, said Witsman.

“(We’re) not going to decrease traffic, we’re going to move around the network more efficiently,” he said.

In the past, funding for ITS and the campus network came from the extra money left over from long-distance phone bills paid by the university. However, Witsman said, because of the popularity of cellular phones and calling cards, money from that could not cover equipment costs.

For now, Witsman has asked faculty and staff to downsize their use of the campus network and to restrict personal business on campus.

“We’re asking employees to not do their personal work on our network,” he said. “Please stop doing the joyrides because the streets are too crowded.”