Statewide Network Comparison: Overview - K12HSN

APPENDIX A: Summary of High Speed Networks (Educational) by State
Prepared by Jonathan Leavitt, MA
Dept. of Educational Technology, San Diego State University
State HSN initiative and link to site Size or impact on state
(as described on program sites)
with campus computing systems. Originally, the West Virginia University
Computer Center (WVUCC) was designated as the "host site". However, in
spring 1977, the network separated into its own entity and reported to the Board
of Regents. In November of 1998, the Governor’s Office of Technology issued
Operational Directive 9801, which extended WVNET’s range of responsibility to
include a major management, control, and support role for the network. In July
2000, Senate Bill (SB) 653 mandated that WVNET report to the West Virginia
Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC). The policy board has the final
ruling on problem resolution, oversight, direction, policy issues, etc. The network
is currently transitioning to services to benefit state government, K-12
institutions, public libraries, and county government.
Participants: State and county government, K-12, public libraries
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Network (WiscNet)
http://www.wiscnet.net/
good historical document available on site.
Non-profit association.
Their backbone map describes a network that covers most of the state. A
majority of OC-3 lines support the network although OS-12 and DS-3 lines also
exist in small numbers.
Participants: WiscNet is a non-profit, membership-based association of public
and private organizations that provides access to worldwide information and
computing resources with primary emphasis on education, research, and public
service
Wyoming
Wyoming Education Network (WEN)
http://www.k12.wy.us/
Wyoming Internetwork (Internetwork)
http://telecommunications.state.wy.us/declarati
on.asp
very little information on either site.
The Wyoming Equality Network is a statewide, broadband digital data access
network, designed to connect all of the state’s public schools and provide various
other applications including telemedicine. One of the goals of the network is to
provide distance learning services to remote locations across the state. The
network is the result of a state Supreme Court decision in 1995 and legislation in
1997, which mandated the development and implementation of a statewide
education technology plan. The state developed a plan for connectivity between
schools and interactive video among all high schools in the state. During the first
phase of the initiative, Qwest Communications was contracted to provide data
connectivity to all schools in the state. The system is constantly undergoing
upgrades as the technology and demand change.
The Department of Education has sought and received additional funding to
upgrade most of its existing 56kbps circuits to full T-1 capacity, a project which
should be completed by the end of the spring 2003 school semester. A growing
demand required the state to expand the amount of bandwidth from 5 or 7