Some of the Experts Behind the K-20 Technology

Building the K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network meant facing not only the geographic challenges of the state's mountains and water, but grappling with the very large scale of the plan itself. The end product takes advantage of globally-accepted standards, and was designed to be flexible, reliable, and extendable.

In fulfilling its task, the Technical Working Group (TWG) tapped the expertise of some of the state's leading technologists:

• At the University of Washington: Scott Mah, a world-class telecommunications engineer; Steve Corbató, a nationally known Internet specialist; and Michael Wellings, a pioneer in video communication systems technologies

• At Washington State University: John Gray, an expert in dedicated interactive video technology

• At the State Department of Information Service: John Anderson, an excellent telephony and telecommunications advisor

The TWG negotiated with suppliers for high speed digital connections for a seven-node backbone network, plus the transport to connect the nodes with educational institutions. It also purchased hardware: routers for Internet traffic; digital coding/decoding converters for videoconferencing; and the uplink sites, large antennas, and facilities needed for satellite broadcast.

The TWG also created guidelines to help the three educational sectors--universities, colleges, and school districts--make cost-effective technology purchasing decisions in the future.