IHETS Management Committee
February 7, 2003
Audio Conference

Present:

Ray Ewick, Indiana State Library
Vernon Houchins, Vincennes University
Lou Jensen, Indiana State University
Ed Kinley, Indiana State University
Joe Misciewicz, Ball State University
Fred Nay, Ball State University
David Ross, Morgan County Public Library
Robert Ruble, University of Southern Indiana
O’Neal Smitherman, Ball State University
Bob Sorensen, Ivy Tech State College
Staff: Dave King, Susan Scott, Ed Tully, Julie Wheeler

King opened the meeting and gave a brief history of the I-Light project. The I-Light initiative was funded with a $5.3M state appropriation to establish fiber optic connection between Indiana and Purdue universities. When the legislature funded the I-Light project, they created a Steering Committee to provide policy decisions, look at the interconnections and develop an appropriate use policy. The Steering Committee members include Michael McRobbie-IU, Jim Bottum-PU, Jerry Sullivan-Intelenet, and King. The Committee met six months after I-Light was operational. Their first goal was to establish policies. The long-term goal was to look at what the natural extension of I-Light should be. They considered expansions to Muncie , Fort Wayne and South Bend or Terre Haute . The Committee asked various technical staff to provide input on how to proceed. The value of I-Light is significant for research purposes, and we are looking at how we can use this beyond what it currently does for Purdue and Indiana University . The initial effort was designed to be funded by the state, but as money became a problem, the discussion became more of an exercise.

The Steering Committee found that there is a lot of dark fiber that is not being used. It was put in at a time when investments were easy but now it is more difficult to find resources to develop. It became clear that we should be looking at what is out there, what it will cost to connect to it, and what kind of arrangements are necessary to make it happen. The group released an RFP in November to take a look at what’s out there under the auspices of the mandate for information expected by the I-Light2 Steering Committee . In that time frame, Senator David Ford became aware of the initiative and following discussions with McRobbie, submitted a bill (SB233) that identifies the I-Light2 initiative and indicates a request for funds of about $15M. King noted that this came as a surprise considering the current state of the budget.

King added that when the bill was submitted, our best hope was that it would be on the agenda so that as we go through 2-4 year development process, it would be remain on the radar screen. About a week ago, Sen. Ford scheduled the bill for a hearing with Senate Economic Development and Technology committee on February 10.

Members of the Steering Committee have been scrambling to identify who will describe the initiative at hearing. It was agreed that McRobbie, Bottum and King would describe the initiative. McRobbie will give background on the I-Light initiative and its success in leveraging a capital investment to reduce costs and increase IT impact at the research universities. I-Light makes possible extensive growth in research across a wide variety of applications and areas. This increases Indiana ’s involvement in national and international research activities.

Bottum will describe how I-Light2 will benefit the state and serve all the State’s colleges and universities, government, libraries, and municipalities. I-Light2 can be a key catalyst for economic development; it will help make usable currently unused fiber in the state. It would further strengthen Indiana ’s connections into the national telecommunications infrastructure. I-Light2 will provide opportunities in a wide variety of applications including advanced manufacturing and hi-tech fabrication, rural telecommunication and internet access development, agricultural micro-climate and micro-environmental, and community communication and safety.

King will talk about I-Light2 as the natural next step in our on-going effort to provide advanced networks service, increase educational capability in Indiana and support economic development efforts. IHETS member institutions are ready to provide the leadership to establish a foundation that will bring high-speed bandwidth to all parts of the state, as with ITN and Access Indiana. King noted that the timing is crucial. This is a unique situation and we may not have this option six to 12 months from now.

Following discussion the Committee agreed that this is a good opportunity for IHETS and endorsed proceeding with the I-Light2 initiative.

King will send the finalized PowerPoint presentation, which will be used at the February 10 hearing, to the Committee within a couple days.

PowerPoint presentation is available [here]

The meeting adjourned at 3:40pm.