Tag Archives: news

State Connectivity Profiles highlight efforts of R&E networks

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has released State Connectivity Profiles based on data they have been gathering from schools and libraries nationwide.

Distributed last Friday, it is a compilation of several state connectivity profiles describing the connectivity strategies, options and pricing for schools and libraries. The FCC said they hope to use this data to inform their ongoing analysis of the state of broadband connectivity to school and library sites, and identify successful trends in the approaches to promoting connectivity used in different areas.

According to FCC Managing Director Jon Wilkins in a blogpost on Sept. 19, outreach to state and school district staff and library leaders has been a critical element of the E-rate modernization process and that commission staff has been in frequent contact with staff from school districts, state agencies, libraries and research and education networks (RENs) from across the country. These outreach efforts, he wrote, provide important insights on the varying approaches that states are taking to the challenge of delivering high-speed broadband to all schools and libraries.

Much of the knowledge gained is compiled in the State Connectivity Profiles. Each State Connectivity Profile lays out an overview of K-12 school and library connectivity in these states, including an explanation of any state network or REN infrastructure and a breakdown overview of how schools and libraries purchase Internet access, wide area network (WAN) connections, and internal connections.

The document containing the 12 profiles (embedded below) also has sections on Internet speeds, library connectivity, funding and more. Quilt Members CENIC, Networkmaine, Merit, MOREnet, MCNC, OARnet and WiscNet are highlighted in the state profiles.

These profiles provide a thorough summary of connectivity data, purchasing strategies, and broadband deployment policies from a geographically diverse sample of states with differing populations and approaches to delivering high-speed broadband to all schools and libraries. All connectivity data and narrative descriptions are drawn from conversations with school district, state agency, or REN staff and have been reviewed and verified by the appropriate staff in each state.

“The State Connectivity Profiles are also an important element of our data-driven strategy for modernizing E-rate,” according to Wilkins, who thanked the many who worked to compile the data to date.

Many states collect detailed data on the bandwidth and rates purchased by schools and libraries, and many more are conducting statewide surveys this year. State and school district staff and library organizations also provided much of the underlying data for the E-rate modernization staff report and school and library fiber maps.

Executive leadership changes in our Quilt community

There have been a couple of important changes to executive leadership in our R&E networking community that The Quilt wants you to know about…

Lonnie joins LONI

A few months ago, the LONI Management Council established a search committee to identify and recommend to the Louisiana State University Board of Regents an appointment of an Executive Director upon Donnie Vandal’s retirement effective July 1.

LonnieLegerAfter considerable deliberation, the search committee unanimously recommended Lonnie Leger to be Executive Director of the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI). He assumed the role on July 1 after approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Louisiana is fast becoming a leader in the knowledge economy. Through LONI, researchers have access to one of the most advanced optical networks in the country along with the most powerful supercomputing resources available to any academic community.

MCNC names its CFO as interim chief executive officer

In other executive moves this month, a familiar face remains in charge at MCNC as the organization undergoes a change in leadership.

Pat MoodyMCNC, best known as operator of the North Carolina Research and Education network (NCREN), continues a search for a permanent replacement to succeed Joe Freddoso, who stepped down on June 30 after seven years on the job.

Chief Financial Officer Pat Moody now has taken over on an interim basis.

“Joe Freddoso had many successful accomplishments for MCNC during his tenure, and we thank him for his years of service and all of his efforts,” said Moody. “I’m looking forward to ensuring MCNC continues to operate in this same fashion while our experienced and dedicated team provides the level of connectivity and service our constituents have come to expect from us.”

As the CFO of MCNC since 1999, she has the institutional knowledge and enjoys the utmost respect from the board of directors, staff, customers and partners. Moody is a graduate of Purdue University with a degree in business administration. She has more than 38 years of management experience, and is also a director and treasurer of the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina.

A search for a permanent replacement goes on.

Have news?

If you have a company announcement or member news that our networking community might be interested in, please share it with us. If you are interested in more information about The Quilt and its members, we encourage you to explore our website and our Twitter stream @TweetTheQuilt.

MCNC’s Joe Freddoso steps down as CEO

MCNC President and CEO Joe Freddoso and the team at MCNC have created one of the best public broadband infrastructure networks in the country over the last seven years. Effective June 30, he will step down as leader of MCNC as the organization continues to thrive and move forward for North Carolina. Watch the video announcement below.

Jen Leasure, president and CEO of The Quilt, said Joe Freddoso has been a tremendous asset to our research and education community.

“Since joining MCNC, Joe’s leadership, engagement, and tireless work on behalf of educational technology and research infrastructure has been integral to the collective advancement of our national advanced networking community. As a member of The Quilt’s Board of Directors, Joe has actively supported and promoted our organization and it has been a true pleasure to have worked with him. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to work with Joe appreciates his leadership, commitment, compassion and humor that he so willingly shares.”

Joe will be sorely missed, and The Quilt wishes him all the best in what is sure to be the next successful chapter of his professional life.