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November 18, 1999 DES MOINES, Iowa -- A program created to provide equal education opportunities for rural and urban areas in Iowa has grown into a project helping to make high-tech communication more accessible to institutions of education, criminal justice, medicine, government and libraries throughout Iowa. The Iowa Communications Network was created in 1994 after the Iowa General Assembly passed a bill declaring the establishment of the ICN as a state agency. The primary duty of the ICN has been to oversee the completion and maintenance of a fiber optics networking project conceived by the Iowa Legislative Council. The completed project is to provide a statewide fiber optics communications system to authorized users. Tuesday, the ICN celebrated two accomplishments in its quest to network Iowa. The first was the announcement that the program had completed the first stage of a five-phase upgrade. "The upgrade of the network is a very significant accomplishment for the ICN and the state of Iowa," said Harold "Tommy" Thompson, ICN chief operating officer, in a press release issued Monday. "It represents a cooperative effort between the ICN and the vendors in using the most advanced technologies and creating the most comprehensive video service ever fielded to date." Along with the announcement of the completion of the system's first phase of the upgrade came word that the ICN had received its Y2K certification. At a press conference Tuesday at the STARC Armory in Johnston, Gov. Tom Vilsack spoke on the importance of both ICN's completion of phase one of the upgrade and its Y2K compliance certification. "Today's events are an indication of the forward thinking taking place here in this state," Vilsack said. The upgrade is a tribute to Iowa's investment in distance learning." Lucinda Parker, outreach coordinator at the ICN chief operating office in Johnston, said Iowa is unique because it is the only state she is aware of that attempts to provide a network of communication that enables people to have access to services without traveling great distances. She said Indiana is using Iowa as a model in building its fiber optics network. The ICN network is composed of 3,000 miles of fiber optic cable reaching all 99 Iowa counties. Parker said the network puts every Iowa citizen within 15 miles of a video site. The five-phase upgrade, expected to be completed in September 2001, involves switching the network to asynchronous transfer mode technology for higher speed transmission of information, installing MPEG 2 video codecs for efficient use of bandwidth and transforming the network to a ring topology, allowing for two-way, uninterrupted signal transmission. "The upgrade of the network is a very significant accomplishment for the ICN and the state of Iowa," Thompson said at Tuesday's press conference. Parker said in the long run the network will save people and government money. She said people will especially have lower costs due to less travel. The construction of the fiber optics network has cost the state $300 million to date. Currently, more than 650 full-motion video sites are connected to the network. Authorized users include all accredited K-12 school districts and private schools, all accredited public and private colleges and technical institutions, state agencies, federal agencies, the U.S. Post Office, hospitals and clinics and libraries. Authorized users are defined by Chapter 8D of the Code of Iowa. Drake University in Des Moines is a private college authorized to use the ICN network. Phil Houle, assistant provost for information technology and Aliber distinguished professor at Drake, taught his first course over the ICN network last fall. "Information Systems in Organizations" (IS 270) was one of the first courses taught over the ICN by Drake faculty. Houle said he was pleased with the performance of the ICN network, although class was canceled on two occasions during the semester due to a network failure. "Given that it was the first time, it went pretty well," Houle said. "It enabled students at three different locations to participate without driving to Des Moines." Houle said he plans to teach another course over the ICN network and hopes that over time the ICN lessens the probability of network failure. Still, he said he feels the ICN provides a tremendous asset to higher education. "Having students 100 miles or so away is somewhat of a compromise," Houle said. "It would always be better for those students to be in the same room. But, at the same time, [the network] enables them to participate." |