Archive

Indiana

Overview

The Information Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) is currently holding hearings on local competition. Ameritech and the IURC have agreed that Ameritech will invest more than $130 million in infrastructure, pay for a major grant program for distance learning, and accept a moratorium on local measured service.

The legislature has a unique program that provides members of the Indiana General Assembly with laptop computers and a wireless local area network to help cut the cost of operations and improve legislative and constituent services.

Legislation

Applications

The network will be developed as a public access program with commercial features. A public-private partnership will be established that conveys public information through a private network infrastructure to users in the state. Subscribers will pay a low annual fee and probably a per minute connection charge. Charges will be made for accessing commercially valuable public documents such as UCC or real estate filings. Other public information will be freely available. Similar public-private networks are described in the Nebraska and Kansas sections of this report.

The public-private partnership required for Access Indiana has attracted considerable controversy. Opponents complain that government contracts will subsidize the state's biggest telecommunications service providers at the expense of the public sector and claim that the community networks (see below) will become "information colonies" operated for the benefit of the commercial service providers.

The Community Network Grant Program is a unique component of the Access Indiana network. The plan creates local community networks so that Access Indiana users can access information with local content. Citizens' groups and interested individuals use these networks to share information and to coordinate efforts in business, education, and community welfare, and can use the Access Indiana network to connect with other community networks. In 1995 the Indiana State Library, the Indiana Department of Education, and the Corporation for Education Communication joined forces to offer $90,000 to initiate development of 15-20 local community networks. The funds will be allocated using a request for proposal format, and development is now under way. Education State contracts provide Internet access for K-12 schools. Access Indiana is intended to expand to include distance learning programs for schools in remote areas. A grant program pending in 1996 would provide up to $10,000 of state funds to match local cash funds for any Indiana School Corporation to purchase Internet service from the two Access Indiana providers.

The Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS) is a state-funded consortium of all 39 public and private universities and colleges, at a total of 77 campus sites, for the sharing of voice, video, and data networks. IHETS manages INDnet (Indiana's Internet backbone), the Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education (collaborative development and delivery of distance learning), and Access Indiana. Partnerships The Department of Administration's Information Services Division offers guidance to agencies seeking to effectively employ information technology to meet their business needs. Services include access to a business consulting and support center, personal computer and local area network support, client-server hardware and software installation, imaging and information technology training, and email training and implementation.

The agreement between Ameritech and the IURC mentioned in the overview is referred to as Opportunity Indiana. In addition to a major grant program for distance learning, a moratorium on local measured service, and the more than $130 million it will spend on infrastructure, Ameritech will spend $5 million a year to help schools, libraries, and government agencies identify needs and upgrade infrastructure. Videoconferencing The state surveyed potential business users on their videoconferencing needs and conducted a cost analysis. Five to eight state-sponsored videoconferencing sites are planned, but none are operating yet.