The utility of National Informatics Centre's satellite communication system NICNET has far surpassed all expectations. So much so that user response has not been restricted to the species of homo sapiens alone. In Uttar pradesh, man's not so distant cousins --- the monkeys --- have devised their own way of putting NICNET equipment to use. And for once NIC, has had to put its foot down and say no! It all started in remote areas of Uttar Pradesh such as Barabanki, Gonda, Kanpur, Sitapur etc. where baby monkeys, much to the chagrin of NIC officials, found that VSATs could be conveniently used as swings. Not to be left out, the elders joined in the fun and frolic jumping on the antennas and chewing up the co-axial cables. Maintenance firms were reluctant to maintain these monkey infested sites. Before matters could come to a head however, NIC personnel, true to the Organization's record of adaptability, came up with an ingenious way of keeping the monkeys at bay. Antennas were fenched off with barbed wire; upconversers feedhoms and down-conversers covered with local 'babool' stems with thorns, and the space between the antenna and the barbed wire fence was floored with broken pieces of glass with sharp edges projecting out. This low-cost solution works out to around Rs 12,000 for each VSAT, and has effectively helped in maintaining better up-time of Micro Earth Stations (MES) in Uttar Pradesh. Relieved NIC officials now quip, "Wise monkeys better not monkey with NIC's VSATs in the future." A fenched off antenna. INSET: Feedhorn and converters covered with babool stems.