North Carolina Information Highway (NCIH) Video Evolution Principles

Approved by the NCIH Policy Committee on April 17, 1998

The NCIH is at a critical juncture in its illustrious four-year history due to changes in technology and business demands for increased levels of telecommunication services at reduced cost. If we are to secure resources and buy-in to take the NCIH to the next level of service and success, a collaborative agreement on goals and operations should be developed among the user community, service providers, and communicated with government decisionmakers.

We need to prepare for the future growth of the NCIH by offering an array of services that will fit North Carolina’s future needs and allow increased and more economical operations. To guide us in this technological transition, we agree to the following:

To celebrate the success of the NCIH and its partners over the past four years and recognize the contribution it has made to education, government operations and tele-health.

The NCIH is committed to universal service, geographically equalized rates, adequate capacity, interoperability of shared resources, and a public/private partnership with the telecommunication companies, access providers and related vendors.

The ATM statewide backbone will remain in place, and all existing fiber will remain in place to the sites. Other interoperable media, e.g. satellite and wireless, will also be explored.

At this time there is no single technology solution that meets all needs. Therefore, the NCIH will offer a menu of services designed to meet the business and programming requirements of the participating agencies and institutions.

H.320 is an additional service offering that new and existing sites may choose to meet their requirements. State Telecommunication Services will pursue the most effective and economical means of providing existing and proposed services, including the transition between them.

• The NCIH community, in cooperation with independent parties, will actively explore emerging technologies, such as MPEG2/H.310 and H.323 (IP multicast).
• Existing DV-45 sites can continue to use this technology until they choose to replace it, or until the existing contracts expire– whichever comes first.
• All proposed solutions must provide the capability of exchanging interactive video programming (interoperation/bridging/gatewaying) between multiple sites using different technologies.
• The State will work with agencies and institutions to define and meet the needs for bridging, interoperation, scheduling, increased capacity, funding, and any other support needed for this capability.

The NCIH community will actively explore strategies with respect to central vs. distributed funding by the North Carolina General Assembly. Any revisions should be prepared for recommendation to the 1999 General Assembly.