Satellite, other equipment will help restore telecommunications lost at Alcorn State and Southern University

Released: September 21, 2005
Contact: communications@ihets.org

INDIANAPOLIS—Telecommunications engineers from the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunication System (IHETS) headed south today, taking satellite and other equipment to restore Internet connectivity and networking services on a Mississippi and a Louisiana college campus.

IHETS will use a disaster-recovery truck owned by the Indiana Office of Technology to transport a mobile satellite-based Internet access system to the ravaged Gulf Coast. The equipment will help bring Alcorn State University and Southern University back online, restoring their campus telecommunication networks and providing Internet access. Both universities are trying to reinstate classes in limited fashion, but have been hampered by land lines destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

IHETS employees have already donated more than $1,500 to the American Red Cross for hurricane assistance. They will collect goods including water, non-perishable food, school supplies, and other items for students and staff on the two campuses.

“This mobile satellite Internet unit allows us to provide a complete Internet-to-go package, including reliable high-speed broadband service. It’s also capable of handling remote telephone service via IP telephony, real-time two-way video conferencing, and support for peripherals, like laptops and other electrical equipment,” explains Dave King, IHETS executive director. “Our engineers will be able to help restore Internet access for the campuses relatively quickly.”

King says IHETS was approached by ADEC, the American Distance Education Consortium, about offering Alcorn State and Southern University telecommunications assistance. The connection was made because Purdue University is a member of both the IHETS and ADEC consortia. ADEC—an international higher education consortium composed of U.S. land-grant universities and members in Latin America—has been testing a satellite-based Internet network under the auspices of the National Science Foundation for several years.

“When the IHETS mobile satellite Internet unit returns from the southern states, we will continue to use it here to assist Indiana colleges and universities with telecommunications services when emergencies arise,” King notes. “Katrina has demonstrated the importance of being prepared for emergencies. Sending our engineers and equipment into Gulf Coast region will provide needed support there, but it will also help our team learn and be better prepared for the potential disaster recovery in here Indiana.”

The IHETS equipment will be situated in a secure location on or near the campuses. Two IHETS engineers, Max Gordon and David Cory, will likely remain on-site for one to two weeks, assisting and training personnel at Alcorn and Southern in restoring their connections. The secure unit may remain on location until terrestrial connections are fully restored.

Southern University, whose first campus opened in New Orleans in 1880, is the nation’s only historically black university system. Its main campus is in Baton Rouge, with smaller campuses in New Orleans and Shreveport. SU serves about 17,000 students, many of whom comprise a majority of Louisiana’s African American lawyers.

Mississippi’s Alcorn State University, founded in 1871, was the nation’s first state-supported institution for the higher education of African Americans. It is located about halfway between Vicksburg to the north and Natchez to the south and serves about 3,000 students.

IHETS is an Indiana-based technology and education consortium whose members include 40 public and private higher education institutions. Its mission is enhancing the educational, social, and economic development of Hoosiers through technology.

For more information, visit www.ihets.org.

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