US/ND-5: Re: ICN - Statewide fiber optics network

Re: ICN - Statewide fiber optics network

Robert Mammel (epcs@freeway.net)
Tue, 24 Sep 1996 11:05:06 -0400 

> From: Bob Carlitz <bob@info-ren.pitt.edu>
> To: Jan Bolluyt <jbolluyt@spirit-lake.k12.ia.us>
> Cc: us-nd@info-ren.pitt.edu
> Subject: Re: ICN - Statewide fiber optics network
> Date: Tuesday, September 24, 1996 9:22 AM
> 
> Iowa's fiber optic network sounds like an important step for schools and
> libraries in the state.  I'm curious about several aspects of this 
> infrastructure:
> 	1) How was it financed?  Is it a state-owned network, or is the 
> state the primary customer for a privately-built system?
> 	2) What will be the price of connectivity to this network?  I 
> know of some state and local programs which have built fiber optic 
> infrastructure but have attachment prices so high (on the order of 
> $50,000 annually) that few schools or libraries are able to make use of 
> the facility.
> 	3) To what extent has the state planned this system for shared
> use?  That is, is it solely a school network, or is it a broader
statewide
> information network?
> 	4) Which other states have undertaken similar efforts, and how 
> would the preceding questions be answered by people in those states?
> 
> Thanks,
> Bob

I think these are relevant questions, but it prompts some additional ones.	

	5) Is the network designed to be used by schools and libraries
eligible for the Telecommunications Act Universal Service subsidy?
Does the Telecommunications Act ban on re-sale make the network
ineligible?
	6) How does the cost of the service compare to the cost of
service offered by local ISP's?  How does the performance compare?
	7) What is the term of the contract offered to school districts
and libraries and how does this term compare to the term offered by
local ISP's?  (Our brief Internet history shows that both technology
and pricing changes quickly - what looks like a good deal on the day of
purchase may be the worst deal available a year later).
	8) Does the state wide network offer consulting, training,
installation, storage on a Web server, virtual Web servers, access to a
UseNet server, email accounts, the option to manage the library's or
school district's own email accounts and dial in modem or ISDN access
for individuals employed by or served by the library or school
district?
	9) If the school district, library or owner (government agency or
non-profit corporation) of the subsidized network is offering individual
modem or ISDN dial in access to the Internet, what effect is this having on
possible competitors for the service being offered?  Are local ISPs able to
compete against the subsidized service?  Is the subsidized service the
reason you have few or no local ISPs (and thus few or no local choices nor
competitive pricing for these services)?  
	10) Does the infrastructure of the state wide network utilize
private sector infrastructure already in place or does it duplicate the
infrastructure?  Is the existence of a public state wide infrastructure
the reason why a private sector infrastructure doesn't exist or is slow
to develop?
	11) Does a free lunch really exist?

Bob Mammel
Gaylord Michigan