House Appropriations Committee Approves WHEN Bill;
But No 1996 Appropriation Determined.
The House Appropriations Committee passed Substitute
House Bill 2929 on Saturday, the House's version of
the Washington Higher Education Network bill, but that action
still leaves open the critical questions of whether work will
begin on the project this year and how much state funding will
be available to spend. Both the House Appropriations Committee
and the Senate Ways and Means Committee have yet to take up the
actual funding level for 1996, and it is possible that they
will not act on funding until they consider the supplemental budget
later this session.
The Senate Higher Education Committee last week sent
to the Ways and Means Committee a plan (Substitute Senate Bill
6705) for appropriating $40 million to build the entire system
to connect the state's community colleges and four-year
institutions with interactive data, video and audio for distance
learning programs. Ways and Means has yet to take up that bill
which is supported by the state's four-year institutions.
House Bill 2929 contains no appropriations but, like the Senate
bill, sets up a fund where the 1996 Legislature could appropriate
moneys. Disbursement of fund moneys in the House Bill would be
by the Information Services Board and the Department of Information
Services. The House bill does presume some phasing of the project,
as it calls for ISB and the state Higher Education Coordinating
Board to submit a funding plan to the 1997 Legislature.
WHEN? A dozen reasons why it should be NOW.
The position by the four-year institutions that work
should begin immediately has been disputed by some legislators.
Here are the arguments that the institutions are making in support
of the project going ahead immediately:
1. Institutions must be positioned to use telecommunications
to deal with part of the "baby boom echo," the projected
50 percent increase in the high school graduating classes that
is headed for college.
2. The current 28-channel "WHETS" system
is full between Pullman and Tri-Cities, preventing expansion of
programs to the Washington State University branch campuses.
WHEN would upgrade to 84 channels.
3. There is a danger of the FCC "auctioning
to the highest bidder" microwave frequencies in future years,
substantially increasing the cost of the project, where microwave
is used.
4. With increasing interests vying for microwave
channels, broadcast channels could become scarce. A delay might
result in the loss of opportunities.
5. Private fiber optics providers have appeared
more willing than ever in recent weeks to discuss long-term leases
that may make microwave connections at many locations unnecessary.
Our preference is to use leased, rather than state-owned, facilities.
6. This is a very difficult project to phase without
disenfranchising some higher education partners. The basic 84-channel
backbone alone could cost more than $20 million and is necessary
to serve all institutions.
7. It is a good money issue for a supplemental
budget session. A large percentage of the project can be handled
as a one-time expenditure, be it long-term fiber optics cable
leases or state-owned microwave. There will be relatively little
costs to future Legislatures or what lawmakers call "bow
wave." It can be funded in the capital or operating budget.
8. Both the Information Services Board and the
state Higher Education Coordinating Board agree its time to get
on with building WHEN.
9. While we support a planning process that will
allow the project to move ahead, there is absolutely no reason
to study the technology. WHETS has undergone 11 feasibility studies.
WHEN is simply an upgrade and expansion of WHETS.
10. There is absolutely no reason to wait for K-12
or any other entity to develop a system, they will not be left
behind. WHEN, like WHETS is "interoperable," meaning
that any entity building a telecommunications system to state
standards will be able to connect to it.
11. This is a system that may serve private education
institutions as well. Technical and academic officials from public
and private institutions discussed that option in a conference
call on Feb. 2.There is a climate of business and education partnerships
that telecommunications can capitalize on. The WHETS system currently
delivers classes to the Boeing plant in the Seattle areas.
This update is shared by broadcast fax and electronic
mail to friends of Washington State University as state government
developments occur. Contact Karen Fischer, WSU State-wide
Affairs, 509/335-6665. Larry Ganders is at 360/438-7552; Fax:
360/438-8104. Internet address is ganders@wsunix.wsu.edu. Visit
our web home page at www.wsu.edu/IR/wsulegis/olympia.html.
