Raymond,

As I understand allowable costs, and based on situations I have come up
against, in determining whether charging ethernet installations are
allowable, I think you need to consider a few points.

First, are the connections required to carry out the work scope of the
grant.  If not they are probably not appropriate.  If they would be a
benefit to the project, you can always submit a request to the granting
agency with a justification for the installation.

Second, will the connections be used for other current grants or other
university purposes.  If so, the cost should be distributed to each user
based on expected use.

Third, monthly phone service can be allowable as a direct cost, as long as
the charges are directly related to the grant, and they are specifically
submitted and approved as a individual item of direct cost in the budget.

Finally, if there happens to be a use charge assessed to the university
department for units or hours of use, these costs can be redistributed to
the separate users as long as each is assessed the same rate and there is
appropraite backup for the redistribution.

I hope this helps.

Scott Morris
University of Illinois
Department of Nuclear Engineering
211 Nuclear Engineering Laboratory
103 South Goodwin Avenue
Urbana, IL  61801-2984

Phone:  (217) 244-4949
Fax:    (217) 333-2906
e-mail: xxxxxx@uiuc.edu