A state technology grant could allow ASU to expand its academic services to other parts of Arizona.
Gov. Jan Brewer awarded a $39 million grant to telecommunications company GOVnet, Inc last Tuesday, and the network to be built could bring ASU programs into schools across the state.
Using the money, GOVnet will establish a private broadband network in order to provide faster, more reliable service than the Internet provided at participating institutions.
“The capacity it brings will help with everything from enhancing rural schools and libraries to networking hospitals with health care providers,” Brewer said in a statement.
Fifteen months ago, GOVnet reached out to NAU and the UA to talk about the possibility of offering distance learning video courses to rural schools with the help of faster Internet, said Kristine Morris, chief deputy superintendent for Maricopa County Education Service Agency.
ASU was not contacted at the time because it was undergoing changes in its chief information officer position, with Adrian Sannier stepping down and Gordon Wishon taking his place, Morris said.
GOVnet felt then that UA and NAU sufficiently represented ASU’s interests, since they were just in preliminary talks at that point, Morris said.
“We wish to talk directly to ASU,” said Karen McCoy, vice president of real estate and government affairs at GOVnet. “We can help ASU provide classes to community colleges and high schools within the state.”
McCoy, who graduated from ASU with a master’s degree in business administration in 1991, said the network offers ASU a chance to extend its reach far into the Arizona desert with distance learning video courses.
Consumers without access to cable Internet in rural Arizona will also be able to get access through the network at speeds of up to 330 megabits per second, McCoy said.
Previously the consumers and schools alike often had Internet speeds of around 700 kilobits per second. Consumers will now be able to buy faster Internet access from cable companies, McCoy said.
She added that all of the grant funds would go to GOVnet to create the network.
Formed in 2009 in anticipation of receiving the grant, GOVnet was created to expedite the grant process, McCoy said.
The process requires business transparency, which is especially easy with a new company, and the company exists solely to create and maintain the network, she said.
The network will broadcast its signal over the air and no cables will be necessary, which is “very cost effective,” McCoy said.
McCoy said if ASU wanted to offer a pre-college course at Kingman High School, for example, the network would enable them to do that. Previously this was often impossible, as many schools did not have the bandwidth necessary for video courses.
“There are going to be a lot of opportunities, both for students and for educators,” said Tracy Benson, communications director at the Maricopa County Education Service Agency.
The network won’t just affect the classroom either, Benson said. It will also allow school faculty to participate in conferences and workshops without the expense or hassle of travel.
She said now that the grant has been awarded, it is all down to the details of establishing the network.
“High-speed Internet has become a requirement for learning,” Benson said. “This is a great step toward leveling the playing field for students across the state.”
Reach the reporter at alex.ferri@asu.edu
