Where We Are Going:
Road Map for the Future
The people responsible for creating the NCIH had a vision—a vision of changing the face of North
Carolina to get services across the state. . . to transform the way the state conducts its business. . . to
overcome the traditional barriers of geographic location. . . to stimulate opportunities that wouldn’t
otherwise be available. . . to meet the 21st century head on.
These farsighted folks could envision a host of applications, some of which are already under way and
others which will be here soon:
- State troopers calling up fingerprint information from their police cars
- Citizens renewing licenses on-line 24 hours a day
- Developers electronically submitting applications for permit approvals
- Students in Bladen County taking courses in Japanese and Advanced Calculus
- Medical specialists conferring with local physicians to diagnose and treat a patient
- Chemistry teachers in Charlotte and Wilmington sharing resources.
After a year of investigation, it is clear to the Office of the State Controller that the highway was the right
thing to do and still is. The NCIH has served as a catalyst for local exchange carriers—telephone
companies—to make a multi-million dollar investment in an advanced infrastructure. While the natural
forces of the marketplace may have produced such a development over time, it would have been much
slower in coming, and would probably not have reached the remote parts of the state that need it the
most.
North Carolina was far ahead of the power curve on this initiative—and while it has paid a price, it has
also gained great benefits. This, then, is not the time to back away, but to hone our strategy and harness
the incredible power of the technology.
This will mean making some important course corrections. First and foremost, we have to stop looking
at the NCIH as a separate entity and start looking at it as part of a comprehensive technology
infrastructure for North Carolina. The highway’s primary purpose should be to provide a statewide
backbone network and to support applications that require large amounts of high speed bandwidth. For
the whole range of applications that do not need this capacity, we should continue to offer a variety of
capabilities sized to users’ requirements and budgets.
Statewide Connectivity Strategy
Based on what was learned from conducting this evaluation, the major players—the Controller’s Office,
Governor’s Office, University of North Carolina System, Community College System, Department of
Public Instruction, state agencies, local governments—worked together in recent months to develop a
Statewide Connectivity Strategy. We see this strategy as a game plan for providing the electronic access
and exchange of information needed by North Carolina public agencies, citizens and businesses, no matter
where they are located or what technologies—data, voice, video or image—they are using.
From our perspective, connectivity is a fancy word for putting people together to share information and
ideas. Such communication is vital if our government is to provide value to its customers, our workforce
is to find good jobs, our students are to compete with their peers around the globe and our quality of life
is to improve. It depends on four basic components:
- Communications and computing hardware.
A statewide connectivity strategy should
require each of the devices that serve as the interface to access electronic information—
stand-alone personal computers (PCs), PCs networked into Local Area Networks, servers,
mid-range computers or mainframe computers—to inter-communicate and be easy to use.
- Software.
The strategy must assure compatibility at all levels of systems and applications
software. This will mean addressing and incorporating answers to software issues, such as
communication protocols, addressing schemes, applications interfaces and message and
document exchange standards.
- Network access facilities.
The key to connectivity is to ensure that the technology providing
a point of entry into a statewide network is transparent no matter what hardware or software
is used, and that it is compatible with network backbone facilities.
- Network backbone facilities.
The statewide transport mechanism for the array of
information generated by users must provide a compatible, low cost mode of moving
information. From a cost standpoint, it is essential to have multiple access points into this
backbone spread across the state.
In other words, the state must provide a platform that defines the basic connectivity building blocks, such
as that proposed in the Statewide Connectivity Strategy. Let us be very clear: our goal here is to create
a set of standards that will allow the greatest degree of flexibility possible for users—not to create
another level of bureaucracy or control.
Without such a defined pathway, the state will inherit a patchwork communications system that does not
meet the basic requirements of connectivity, interoperability, distributed applications and manageability
outlined at the outset of this report. A well planned and managed Statewide Connectivity Strategy, on
the other hand, will enable the state to better meet North Carolinians’ needs by:
- Providing government workers with easy electronic access to the vast stores of information
they need
- Establishing the networks necessary to transfer information from one state or local
workstation to another
- Allowing electronic access to government information and services by citizens
- Providing public employees with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to effectively use
information technology
- Positioning organizations to take advantage of new opportunities as they arise.
What we are talking about is not just an information highway, but an integrated network that gives
people the information capacity they need, where and when they need it, at a cost they can afford. If we
can accomplish this new vision, we will maximize our technology investments by ensuring that North
Carolina’s public agencies and institutions take advantage of available resources. . . that they have a way
to connect with each other and the world beyond. . . and that they choose solutions which offer the
potential to grow.
How will we get there? The first step toward our vision is agreement on the state’s role in developing a
communications infrastructure. We suggest that this new infrastructure be viewed as a strategic
investment, similar to roads and water systems. Like a well planned highway system, the communications
infrastructure will move information to create new opportunities, increase commerce, improve access to
employment and generate other benefits—particularly in those areas that are the most isolated.
With this understanding, the legislative branch should set policy to guide the Statewide Connectivity
Strategy and the executive branch should be responsible for implementing it, as follows.
Strategy 1: Connectivity funding by the General Assembly should primarily focus on a statewide
infrastructure investment.
Building a solid foundation is critical, whether the state is constructing a new building, expanding our
highway system, or developing our technical infrastructure. A solid technical infrastructure is a must if the
state is ever going to be in a position to use technology to rapidly change the way we do business.
As the General Assembly considers the strategies outlined in this report and the funding associated with
them, a primary focus should be on putting in place the necessary “backbone” building blocks for a
statewide network and structuring the network to operate efficiently (see strategy 5).
With the statewide infrastructure in place, agencies will be able to focus on applications where a clear
“business case” can made to use the network to improve the delivery of programs and services.
Strategy 2: Provide a menu of affordable connectivity options.
The communication needs of North Carolina’s state and local governments are diverse and complex. A
connectivity strategy therefore needs to assure that a variety of communications options are available
through an integrated statewide telecommunications network, which allows users to subscribe based on
their program needs and budget constraints.
One thing we can count on in our high technology future is the continued acceleration of the rate of
change. To adapt, we need a general platform that lays a solid foundation to build upon. Within this
platform, all the options must provide interoperability from one service to another, so that as users’
requirements change, different and more appropriate options can be selected without costly
reengineering. For this reason, the Statewide Connectivity Strategy must:
- Identify all possible connectivity options
- Evaluate the price/performance of various options
- Establish appropriate classes of connectivity
- Set standards and guidelines to assure interoperability
- Select “best-in-class” options
- Establish statewide contracts that leverage the buying power of the state
- Provide network users a suite of service options, priced according to capacity.
Strategy 3: Provide competent staff support to user communities.
Business and industry have learned, and our evaluation has made clear, that technology will not be
effectively deployed without strong support and training for users. The experience of the private sector
has proven that the most cost-effective way to ensure that customer needs are met and capabilities are
fully exploited in the shortest possible time is to provide a well-staffed, knowledgeable support staff.
To do its job, the Office of the State Controller, State Telecommunications Services Section must have a
staff that can assist new and existing users in making the appropriate technology selection and solving
technological and operational problems. This staff should provide:
- Service awareness: proactive interaction with state and local government organizations to
make them aware of how the state’s range of communications services can assist in improving
services and reducing costs
- Applications consultation: assistance to agency and department representatives in identifying
and targeting applications with potential benefits to the state
- Technical consultation: technical advice and problem-solving assistance to user sites as
needed
- Help desk: a 24-hour toll-free access for users to report problems and receive appropriate
assistance.
Strategy 4: Balance statewide direction and coordination with local flexibility and control.
The Statewide Connectivity Strategy should not only tolerate local flexibility and control, but actively
encourage and support it. The best way to guarantee this objective is to clearly define the interface to the
state’s system, so that local users know what is required.
Achieving the desired balance will require a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities. For optimal
performance, the state should be responsible for setting policy direction and standards; local users should
determine what options make the most sense for their unique requirements.
Specifically, the state should establish an overall statewide infrastructure, with a connectivity plan that
focuses on the concept of community networks. This concept will allow access to a statewide network
for a political subdivision and allow that subdivision to provide access to various points within the
community. Collaboration and sharing of network resources could then be implemented by the
community as required: for example, all schools in a district could share one gateway to the Internet.
Strategy 5: Establish regional network “hubs” across the state.
One way to reduce the costs of IXC charges—and create incentives for connection to a statewide
network—is to establish remote concentration hubs in each of the local exchange carriers’ assigned
transport areas (LATAs). Since the Office of the State Controller buys telecommunication circuits from
the local telephone companies, which are priced according to mileage, the hubs would reduce the cost for
circuits outside the Raleigh area. This will help reduce the overall rates for data service statewide, and
help provide economical access to state data sources and to the Internet.
Because the NCIH has significant capacity for data service that is not available for video service and is
not priced according to distance, it is the best solution for extending the network backbone and assuring
that the benefits of the information age are distributed across the state, rather than restricted to urban
population centers.
Strategy 6: Adopt a roll-out plan for connecting public schools and local centers at community
colleges.
The answer is, North Carolina needs the NCIH: the question is, are we willing to invest in it? This isn’t
something the state can “sort of” do—funding it a little here and cutting it a little there—and expect to
see results. If we set this initiative aside now, education and economic development opportunities will be
limited, particularly in the more isolated parts of the state. On the other hand, if we strategically deploy
this technology, develop applications and support people, the highway will mushroom in a way that we
can’t even imagine today.
The General Assembly will need to make a long-term commitment to the future of the technology
infrastructure and its backbone, the NCIH. A connectivity funding plan, designed to make the best use of
the state’s resources, is presented here for the General Assembly’s consideration. The community
colleges were selected as ideal sites for community technology centers which could serve a variety of
local purposes. In addition, the primary emphasis in the public schools is to add data-only sites which will
provide access to state data bases, the Internet and other networks.
If the state doesn’t take such action, independent regional sites will emerge, as is happening in other
states. Because these networks don’t have to handle inter-LATA communications, they can provide
services at a lower cost. However, they don’t offer the value of interconnectivity and don’t help other
areas of the state, especially those locations that stand to gain the most.
A Connectivity Funding Plan for North Carolina
Connectivity Funding Strategy
Strategy 7: Provide gateways to other predominant technologies to enhance interstate and global
communications.
Connecting the state is an important first step toward a high technology future, but there is a whole world
beyond. Many technological approaches exist in today’s evolving videoconferencing environment; in
order to access these technologies and communicate around the nation and globe, we will have to provide
users with reliable gateways to other predominant technologies. The implementation of these gateways
will provide users with the easy access they need.
Strategy 8: Allow savings from network initiatives to go into a technology development fund.
A receipts-based organization like SIPS simply doesn’t have the funds to develop emerging technologies.
But without such assistance, it will be unable to support the Statewide Connectivity Strategy and help
agencies save additional monies.
The point is, there will be a high return on the state’s technology investment, in terms of both cost and
efficiency, over time. Recognizing the pressures on the state’s budget, we recommend that a portion of
the savings generated by network initiatives be used to establish a technology development fund. This
fund should provide a target for developing technologies, with planning and reporting mechanisms to
show what has been learned and how it can be deployed. Such a mechanism will allow the state to
evaluate and test promising new communications products, services and initiatives, resulting in further
savings.
Reaching Our Destination
Our journey has given us a clear picture of what’s around the corner: increasing demand for access, new
applications requiring high bandwidth, and fundamental changes in the way we do business. What we see
is that North Carolina is heading in the right direction to put all of these elements together to work for us.
The state can realize the incredible potential of our telecommunications infrastructure—including the
information highway—if we make the necessary commitment now.
At this critical juncture in our history, the state needs to take an active leadership role. A number of
positive activities are already taking place, such as Connect NC, a major connectivity awareness project
launched by the Office of Governor and funded by federal grants; joint efforts of the Office of the State
Controller and representatives of user groups to address mutual concerns; and the General Assembly’s
request for this evaluation. Yet key pieces of the program are still missing.
We believe the General Assembly can help overcome these gaps—now and in the future—by establishing
a focus of expertise in its operations. Toward that end, we support the recommendation of the
Information Resource Management Commission (IRMC) to establish a legislative focal point for
technology. The Office of the State Controller pledges our support to help realize these objectives in the
field.
Working together, we can make sure that children have access to the world from their classrooms. . .
citizens easily get their questions answered and conduct business with the state information. . . public
employees have the resources to work in smarter, faster and cheaper ways. . . private industry gains the
advantage it needs to succeed. We can, in short, change the face of North Carolina.
