30 September 1998 12:30 PM
The scheduled meeting of the Electronic
Village of Abingdon "91st Day" Subcommittee held in the Johnston
Memorial Hospital was opened by Dr. F. H. Moore, Jr., Chairman. There were
ten participants present. These included:
Dr. F. H. Moore, Jr., Chairman
David Taverner
Jay Cox, Vice-Chairman
Brian Lanham
Al Bradley, Secretary
Jack White
Randy Robertson
Ray Millsap
Burt Bassham
John Mongle
The minutes of the 26 August, 1998
meeting were approved as presented.
The status of potential new connections
was discussed. Only one was identified; this being a new application for
service to Technical Intelligence Group at 152 East Main Street (the
Greenway-Trigg building). Sprint is working on this connection.
The Status of the "North Abingdon
Extension" through Johnston Memorial Hospital was discussed. This
extension through the hospital had come to a halt when it was discovered
that a key piece of unused 4" conduit leading from the hospital
parking garage, underground to the pole closest to the parking garage
belonged to American Electric Power Company and not to Johnston Memorial
Hospital. As of meeting time, Randy Robertson had contacted Debbie Belisle
of American Electric Power's engineering division to determine if the
4" conduit could be shared, using a "Y" connector, but no
answer from American Electric Power had been received. Discussion followed
as to how to proceed if AEP replied that the conduit was not available.
The project could be extended through the parking garage but would have to
exit the garage structure and proceed underground and under a sidewalk to
the pole. This would mean some extra cost for this unanticipated work. The
project could also be extended through the parking garage and terminated
at the north wall of the structure, leaving the continuation outside to
the pole for the next extension project if need be to stay within budget.
David Taverner reported that individual drops to the Hospital, Scyphers
and Austin and to the Washington County Public Library were installed, but
remained untested as of meeting time.
The next item for discussion was the
continuation from the last meeting of pricing for the use of 100 mbs
connectivity soon to be available on the E V A system. Jay Cox presented
copies of a fee schedule taken from Palo Alto, California that were much
more costly than our schedules. Given our existing $35 per month basic
charge for fiber optic network service for one computer, several pricing
options were discussed. It was generally felt that most users of 100 mbs
service would be commercial in nature, probably employing intense graphic
and other capabilities, thereby becoming great users of bandwidth.
Ultimately, it was determined that no real price could be made for this
service without knowing in advance how intensive the use of the
capabilities of the system would be by the individual or business desiring
such service. As an interim measure and subject to change, it was decided
that the most expedient answer would be to double the existing price of
the existing 10 mbs rate structure. Upon motion of Jack White, seconded by
Ray Millsap and unanimously approved the following rate structure for 100
mbs E V A service was adopted on an interim basis and subject to change at
a later date:
Existing and newly established Interim Rate Structure for
100 mbs service.
NOTE: The new 100 mbs rates are interim in nature and subject to change.
Existing
10 mbs Rate Schedule
Adopted Interim
100 mbs Rate Schedule
0-1 computer ¹
$ 35 per mo.
0-1 computer ²
$ 70 per mo.
Small Multi Users
Small Multi Users
2-3 computers
$ 22 ea/mo.
2-3 computers
$ 44 ea/mo.
4-6 computers
$ 16 ea/mo.
4-6 computers
$ 32 ea/mo.
Small Network Connections
Small Network Connections
7-10 computers
$ 150 per mo.
7-10 computers
$ 300 per mo.
Medium Network Connection
Medium Network Connection
11-19 computers
$ 225 per mo.
11-19 computers
$ 450 per mo.
Large Network Connection
Large Network Connection
20 & over
$ 300 per mo.
20 & over
$ 600 per mo.
¹ A minimum charge of $35 per month will be made for all service drops;
including those that are not in use.
² A minimum charge of $70 per month will be made for all service drops;
including those that are not in use.
The next item for consideration was
that of the proposed ARC grant application that would include all four of
the applications proposed by the 21st Century Subcommittee and adopted by
the 91st day Subcommittee at the August 26 1998 meeting. Al Bradley stated
that he was experiencing some difficulty in relating these goals to
increased employment upon which grant approvals are based. There were
several suggestions in regard to assistance with this application.
The final agenda item concerned David Taverner's design
for the E V A Videoconferencing Application to be included in the ARC
grant. David outlined several potential choices for types and
configurations of equipment to be included therein. Apparently, the most
usable and versatile configuration included hardware and software from
PictureTel Corporation. The products comprise: for personal use, the
PC-based "LiveLan" unit; the "LiveManager" product for
bandwidth management; the "LiveGateway" product to allow
interoperability with ISDN-based videoconferencing units that are commmon
on older systems; and the "NetConference" video conferencing
server that supports up to 24 simultaneous video sessions. These systems
run over IP networks, on Windows 95/98 PCs, and Windows NT servers. This
configuration was chosen as
the best system for our use to develop Applications for the E V A network
system.
There being no further business, the
meeting was adjourned.