ICN email to constituents 10-14-03

All ICN Constituents,

At the inception of cost recovery, the ICN committed to including constituents in the planning process. Last fall, the ICN management staff had the pleasure of meeting with many of you during a series of statewide information sessions. These meetings provided the forum to outline future network plans, recommend costs, and solicit your feedback in advance of submitting a formal recommendation to the Policy Committee. In light of the many changes taking place during the next year regarding the integration of the ICN with Central Management Services (CMS), these annual meetings are not appropriate at this time.

We do, however, recognize your need for fiscal year 2005 cost recovery rates to incorporate into your budget process. I am pleased to share with you that the ICN management team will recommend level pricing to the Policy Committee’s November meeting and has recommended the same to Central Management Services. This is possible due to the aggressive planning and renegotiations for egress and backbone circuits that the ICN undertook during the past two years. Planning for the future, anticipating demand and network growth, the ICN was able to procure favorable contracts and pricing which has been passed on to ICN constituents by way of lower costs.

The ICN staff would like to take this opportunity to provide you with an update on the transition that is taking place as a result of the change in ICN fiscal agent from the Board of Higher Education (BHE) to CMS.

First and foremost, ICN staff members are doing their very best to continue providing you, the ICN constituents, with the world-class service and network reliability that you have come to expect and that Illinois education deserves. With the exception of one notable network outage that occurred late this summer, most of you have noticed no difference in the service you receive from the ICN.

The ICN management team has continued to provide CMS with extensive documentation outlining the operation of the ICN; has met with the consultants hired by CMS to evaluate the efficiency of the ICN operation; and will engage in additional meetings to provide input into the transition process as requested by CMS. During the transition, all network backbone circuit upgrades, procurement of network equipment, acquisition of dark fiber, roll-out of new services, and personnel issues have been put on hold.

Staff will be in touch as further developments occur.

Best regards,

H. Neil Matkin
Director

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