US/ND-5: Re: Welcome to Week Five of the US/ND On-line Seminar

Re: Welcome to Week Five of the US/ND On-line Seminar

Tom Hibbs (thibbs@k12.colostate.edu)
Mon, 23 Sep 1996 09:33:56 -0600 (MDT) 

>
>	* What successful telecommunications projects have you been involved
>   with? 

        The Adventures in Supercomputing program instituted by Department of
Energy grants originally in five states.  Colorado State University
administered the grant here.  In Colorado the schools participating ranged
in size from our largest in Denver to our smallest at my school (75 students
average in H.S. during the grant period).  The grant included an Internet
connection - back in telnet and MOSAIC for WWW times.  For four years, the
connection was free.  It still is a 56K frame-relay, that we now pay for,
but the best part is the technical and pedagogical backup.  We have gone
from a local dial-up to being our own mail and WWW server in an area 200
miles from the technical universities in our state.  In four years, we've
seen the technical capabilites of local providers increase, but still far
from "expert."
        The other program was the US West / University of Northern Colorado
connection grants.  These were more influential to individual teachers as
they were provided with free home Internet connections with some backup
technically.  The technical side is much stronger now than three years ago
when the program started. The training in both programs has been one of the
cornerstones.  The free connections were also essential.
>
>	* Did these projects depend upon any special telecommunications
>   rates? 

I believe the service was bid to the lowest bidder who could provide
reliable service, but rates were the same as being provided to any
educational institution.  Use of a frame-relay cloud to decrease costs was
new at the time, but is probably common place now.  The use of the (now)
commercial carriers of Internet services has helped them become stronger
for-profit companies.

>
>	* Do your projects depend upon any particular tricks of the trade?
>   If so, describe these imaginative applications of telecommunications
>   technology, and indicate whether these applications might not be possible
>   in the environment of new Universal Service subsidies.

A trick of the trade was to have the original person involved with the
Internet when there was a regional connection called WESTNET, was to have
that person - very knowledgeable - in charge.  Our technical side was the
best in the State.  Especially in rural areas, I see aggregation as a good
possibility to lowering costs.  If the Universal Service subsidies were used
to connect an area which had non-toll, local telecommunications service with
a T-1 connection that would reconnect with up to 20 56KB connections
directly to schools and contract for training 20 school network
administrators and 1 area network administrators, then when the money went
away, the connections and services would still be affordable.  Pat Burns,
WESTNET, admonishes that the training would need to be extensive and this
would be a difficult task to have 100% success with.

This would be a combination of grant to a commercial provider for the
Internet connection, the telecommunications provider for the lines, and a
training entity for the support.  Might make everyone happy, especially the
schools who got temporary free connections while being trained.  The
training period might be as long as four years and could include any school
in the service area even if they already have service and expertise.  It
would just make that group stronger.

 
>
>	* What are specific areas in which ongoing projects might benefit 
>   from new Universal Service subsidies? 

I train students as network administrators and now network "mechanics."
We're also starting to do minor repair work on our own computers using a PC
Maintenance and Repair class.  The Universal Service should be used just to
get all this started.  Maybe, as with Eisenhower funds, the program would be
so good that later Congresses would continue it.

>
>	* Are there projects currently in the planning stages whose
>   viability will depend upon the structure of new Universal Service
>   subsidies? If so, indicate how the subsidies should be structured to
>   assure the success of these new projects. 

Universal Service subsidies provided to the Internet provider for connecting
a school, or a telecommunciations provider for connecting a school, or to a
training entity should be available to any project that also meets the
guidelines and therefore would make their dollars go much further.  We have
several such programs in Colorado already in progress or in the planning stages.

Tom Hibbs
1995 Colorado PAESMT
Cheraw High School