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Wisconsin Educational Communications Board
Broadcast Radio and Television Digital Interconnect Network Project
A Cost-Effective and Flexible Solution for Statewide Program Distribution and Collaborative Production
Abstract
The Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) is in the final phase of implementing a third-generation digital fiber Interconnect Network to replace its aging microwave system. This new network consists of a self-healing bi-directional SONET ring backbone, interconnecting 30 TV and Radio facilities via ECB's technical center in Madison. Access to High Definition TV, analog TV, and radio transmission facilities is thereby provided to Wisconsin Public Broadcasting services and the University of Wisconsin production facilities throughout the State.
High-speed packet switching and MPEG-II protocols are used to transport production quality television, distribution quality television, and two full-fidelity uncompressed radio networks to ensure uncompromising quality for NTSC-TV, DTV and stereo radio broadcast.
Overview of ECB and the Interconnect Project
ECB holds broadcast licenses for the majority of the public radio and television stations in the State of Wisconsin. Augmented through affiliation agreements, ECB-facilitated educational programming collectively reaches nearly 90% of the population of Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Public Broadcasting stations operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. ECB policy is directed by a 16-member board. All public and private educational institutions of the state are represented on the board, along with representatives from the legislature, the State Governor's office and members of the general public appointed by the Governor. The ECB is responsible for insuring that public radio and television programs and services reflect and respond to the interests and needs of the residents of the State. The present ECB broadcast network includes TV, FM, AM, Ku Satellite, TV production, radio production, and Internet facilities.
In June of 2000, ECB contracted with the firm of Evans Associates (www.evansassoc.com) to prepare a preliminary design and feasibility analysis for a new broadcast network tasked to meet the challenges posed by the FCC's digital television mandates, while increasing network reliability and reducing operational cost. This study recommended a terrestrial bi-directional "one-to many" SONET "ring" topology that would interconnect all analog and digital broadcast facilities and would simultaneously provide production access nodes at every major city in the State. The addition of audio and video servers in the future will further increase the flexibility of the new statewide network. Implementation of this Interconnect Network in 2002 ensures that the ECB will be able to carry out its mission to serve all areas of Wisconsin's residents with state-of-the-art educational programming in the digital age. The resulting system is modular, scalable, and extremely cost effective; in fact, ECB's recurring costs are less than those associated with its old single-channel single-thread one-way analog microwave system.
The broadcast interconnect system represents a collaborative effort on behalf of ECB, the State's inter-exchange carriers, local carriers, and the program production centers. On a continuous basis, the backbone provider will monitor, test, provide help services, and document signal flow throughout entire statewide transport system, including the ECB-owned edge equipment used for provisioning. The ECB will aggregate, switch and manage the flow of programming in concert with the public interest.
For further information about the project, please contact: Ralph Evans
For more information please contact:
Evans Associates
210 South Main Street
Thiensville, Wisconsin 53092
(262)242-6000
fax: (262)242-6045
http://www.evansassoc.com
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