Nebraska touts benefits of high-speed digital network

Nebraska officials are beginning to see the benefits of services provided by a statewide high speed digital network they began building last year.

Schools currently connected to the network can access digital video of historical re-enactors, such as people taking on the part of President Thomas Jefferson. They can view maps going back 200 years to see areas explored by Lewis and Clark and how those areas have changed.

By Jean Ortiz, Associated Press

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-04-13-ne-net_x.htm

Hospitals can link to other health centers to share information on the latest in medical procedures, which will be key in the fight against bioterrorism.

Network Nebraska provides all those things and more, state officials said Monday. The goal is making the Internet-based network accessible to all parts of the state for public entities including government, health care and education.

The transfer of information will be faster, more secure and more cost effective than previous Internet capabilities, Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman said.

A partnership between the University of Nebraska and state government, the network can transfer video, data and voice communications over a single system, Heineman said.

Providing the necessary training and support will help its users embrace technological change, university president L. Dennis Smith said.

"If we do, we will soon find Nebraskans taking advantage of new technological capabilities to do their jobs better and ultimately improve Nebraska’s economic prosperity," he said.

The first phase, installed by Alltel in October, connected Kearney, Grand Island, Lincoln and Omaha.

Qwest extended the connections in January in a second phase to Alliance, North Platte and Norfolk.

There is no definite timeline for expanding into other parts of the state, Heineman said.

Walter Weir, chief information officer with the University of Nebraska, compared the system to the intricate system of roads in the state, including Interstate 80, state highways and rural roads.

"Things kind of slow down when you finally get to the house," Weir said.

The goal is to have an equal distribution of high speed across the state, Weir said.

No additional money was appropriated toward formating the network, said Steve Schafer, chief information officer for the state. The network used existing telecommunications networks’ fiber optics to form a single information pipeline.

The Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission is saving $30,000 annually through the aggregation of bandwidth. Wayne State College will save $14,000 a year and nearly doubled bandwidth for Internet access. Greater bandwidth will allow for less traffic congestion, which in the past slowed or even could halt access in information transfers.

Brad Hedrick, vice president of Alltel’s Wireline Services, said the new system will have plenty of capacity and can be easily upgraded.

Tackling the communication void is the goal in a separate effort among police and fire departments across the state. They are working to establish a statewide radio system to use in emergencies.

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