[Kan-ed_members] Kan-ed Legislative Update

[Christina Madden]

Dear Kan-ed Advisory Committee and Kan-ed Members,
 
I wanted to provide you with a Kan-ed legislative update.  First of all, the House and Senate have tentatively agreed to fund Kan-ed at $7.5 million next year.  They will decide upon the remainder of the $2.5 million during the Ominbus discussion in late April.  In my opinion, the $2.5 million in question revolves around recent networking discussions/issues between Kan-ed, Cox Communications and the cable and telecom industry.  My impression is that some legislators are holding out to see if we can come up with compromise language for SB 391.
 
This morning, and after working through our legislative staff, President Robinson, and our attorneys on staff, Cox and I have come to an agreement on language that offers a compromise for both sides.  I very much appreciate working with Coleen Jennison and Scott Schneider at Cox Communications and Catherine Moyer from Pioneer Communications.  They have been very willing to sit down and work these issues out.  At this point, we are not sure when the conference committee will be held, but I expect it might be yet today or Friday.  I submitted a letter to the conference committee this morning, indicating that Cox Communications and Kan-ed were now on the same page and had reached a mutually beneficial agreement on language.
 
The compromise in language will still allow Kan-ed to use the new network we have contracted for.  It will also allow peering and interconnects, provided that the provider can meet the technical peering standards that Kan-ed establishes.  
 
It also moves Kan-ed onto a common network platform, AT&T's AVPN network, with the State of Kansas.  It is the same platform that DISC (KanWIN) will use for State agencies.  Kan-ed members will have a choice of peering to the new network with their local provider or using the AT&T contract directly for connections.  Kan-ed will work with Calence, AT&T and the telecom industry to establish technical, non-proprietary peering standards.  I believe that this is a win-win for both sides.
 
I have also entered into contract negotiations with KanREN to become the Kan-ed network operation center on a long-term basis.  I met with the KanREN Board of Directors yesterday, and it is clear to me that with the new leadership at KanREN, we have a great opportunity to build a mutually beneficial partnership.  I have asked KanREN to establish some dedicated Kan-ed engineering staff and we will be working out all the details of that and other items as we negotiate a two-year contract over the next month or two.  Using KanREN will not only provide us with an organization that has immense technical and engineering knowledge, but KanREN helped us originally establish the current peering document which we will be refining as we move forward.  We currently peer or interconnect with six or seven companies.
 
I also want to thank AT&T for their willingness to sit down and talk about these issues with us.  AT&T and Kan-ed will be looking at the peering connections, and we may need to do some addendums to the state contract in support of an alternative pricing structure.  They have signaled that they are very willing to work with us, and I want to personally thank Tim Haug and Randy Perkins.  Kan-ed will be announcing some pricing from the state contract related to connectivity in the Fall of 2008.  We will complete a pilot of the new network, first.
 
I also want to thank Denise Moore and Eldon Rightmeier.  Denise and Eldon have worked hard to push the State forward to the next-generation of technology.  They are working right now, as we speak, to bring DISC and KanWIN into the 21st century.  As the CIO of the Board of Regents, they have my full support on the implementation of the new AVPN network and their CISCO upgrades for the state campus infrastructure.
 
Finally, I must give the most thanks to my excellent Kan-ed staff.  They have been there through thick and thin, and continue to provide excellent support for the Kan-ed network and our Kan-ed members.  We have hired a new member on staff, Travis White.  Travis brings a mixed IT background, and he will be working with Steve Funk on our Board of Regents local area network, storage area network, document imaging, and with Kan-ed on video conferencing and other special projects.  He will start on April 21st.
 
As we move forward, I need you to reach out to your Legislators and urge them to fully fund Kan-ed at $10 million per year.  If Kan-ed were only funded at $7.5 million, we would have to significantly reduce grant programs, or eliminate them all together...starting with applications that we have already received this year.  It would almost certainly reduce the amount of services we could provide, as well.  There is no one area we would target....a 25% percent cut would have dramatic and unfortunate consequences across the board on all Kan-ed grants, programs, and services.  
 
I would recommend that when your Legislators leave Topeka on April 5th to come home for the "break" before they return for the Omnibus session, you try to contact them to tell them how important Kan-ed funding is to you and your institution.  If you don't know who your legislators are, you can find this information at the following link:
 
http://www.kslegislature.org/legsrv-legisportal/redistricting.do
 
Please share this message with those that you think would receive value from it.  I thank you again for your support, and look forward to working with you as we move the Kan-ed network forward.  
 
Take care,
 
Brad
 
Bradley S. Williams, M.S.
Chief Information Officer
Kan-ed Executive Director
Kansas Board of Regents
T:  (785)-296-8729

Chrisy Madden
Membership Services Coordinator
1000 SW Jackson, Suite 520
Topeka KS  66612
785-296-2238
www.kan-ed.org