The Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS) on behalf of its member institutions, is encouraging participation in the data network for all higher education institutions in Indiana and their constituents, including public libraries, hospitals, governmental agencies, extension centers, and business with research and educational needs for connectivity. Additionally, IHETS is working with the Indiana Department of Education to provide experimentation opportunities for schools via linkage with the Department's dial-access system. IDEAnet. This proposal requests partial funding for participation in NSFNET through a connection with CICNET, the regional network attaching to NSFNET in the Indiana Area as well as partial start-up funds for the necessary routers, circuits, and operating support to facilitate the fullest possible participation. The educational institutions that will participate include: Grace College, Huntington College, Indiana Vocational Technical College, Indiana Wesleyan University, Purdue University North Central, and Taylor University-Fort Wayne. The network initially consists of a redundant T1 backbone linking nodes at four of the larger campuses, 56 kbs DDS end nodes, and connection to CICNET and NSFNET via Indiana University. Phase 2 will extend the backbone and add the six new colleges mentioned above. The network is beginning with the vendor-independent TCP/IP standard, with the expectation of future migrations to the OSI protocol when appropriate. The network will extend throughout Indiana to provide affordable access to Internet resources and enhance the state's information infrastructure, particularly important in small towns and rural communities.
