8D.13 - IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
8D.13 IOWA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK.
1. Moneys in the Iowa communications network fund are
appropriated to the Iowa telecommunications and technology commission
for purposes of providing financing for the procurement, operation,
and maintenance of the Iowa communications network with sufficient
capacity to serve the video, data, and voice requirements of the
educational telecommunications system consisting of Part I, Part II,
and Part III, and other public and private agencies.
2. For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
a. "Part I" means the communications connections between
central switching and institutions under the control of the board of
regents, nonprofit institutions of higher education eligible for
tuition grants, and the regional switching centers for the remainder
of the network.
b. "Part II" means the communications connections between the
regional switching centers and the secondary switching centers.
c. "Part III" means the communications connection between the
secondary switching centers and the agencies defined in section 8D.2,
subsections 4 and 5, excluding state agencies, institutions under the
control of the board of regents, nonprofit institutions of higher
education eligible for tuition grants, and the judicial branch,
judicial district departments of correctional services, hospitals and
physician clinics, agencies of the federal government, and post
offices.
3. The financing for the procurement costs for the entirety of
Part I except for the communications connections between central
switching and institutions under the control of the board of regents,
and nonprofit institutions of higher education eligible for tuition
grants, and for the video, data, and voice capacity for state
agencies and for Part II and Part III, shall be provided by the
state. The financing for the procurement and maintenance costs for
Part III shall be provided by the state. A local school board,
governing authority of a nonpublic school, or an area education
agency board may elect to provide one hundred percent of the
financing for the procurement and maintenance costs for Part III to
become part of the network. The basis for the amount of state
financing is one hundred percent of a single interactive audio and
interactive video connection for Part III, and such data and voice
capacity as is necessary. If a school board, governing authority of
a nonpublic school, or area education agency board elects to provide
one hundred percent of the financing for the leasing costs for Part
III, the school district or area education agency may become part of
the network as soon as the network can reasonably connect the
district or agency. A local school board, governing authority of a
nonpublic school, or an area education agency board may also elect
not to become part of the network. Construction of Part III, related
to a school board, governing authority of a nonpublic school, or area
education agency board which provides one hundred percent of the
financing for the leasing costs for Part III, may proceed as
determined by the commission and consistent with the purpose of this
chapter.
4. The commission shall develop the requests for proposals that
are needed for the Iowa communications network with sufficient
capacity to serve the video, data, and voice requirements of state
agencies and for educational telecommunications applications. The
commission shall develop a request for proposals for each of the
systems that will make up the network. The commission may develop a
request for proposals for each definitive component of the network or
the commission may provide in the request for proposals for each such
system that separate contracts may be entered into for each
definitive component covered by the request for proposals. The
requests for proposals may be for the purchase, lease-purchase, or
lease of the component parts of the network consistent with the
provisions of this chapter, may require maintenance costs to be
identified, and the resulting contract may provide for maintenance
for parts of the network. The master contract may provide for
electronic classrooms, satellite equipment, receiving equipment,
studio and production equipment, and other associated equipment as
required.
5. The state shall lease all fiberoptic cable facilities or
facilities with DS-3 capacity for Part III connections for which
state funding is provided. The state shall lease all fiberoptic
cable facilities or facilities with DS-3 or DS-1 capacity for the
judicial branch, judicial district department of correctional
services, and state agency connections for which state funding is
provided. Such facilities shall be leased from qualified providers.
The state shall not own such facilities, except for those facilities
owned by the state as of January 1, 1994.
The lease provisions of this subsection do not apply to a school
district which elects to provide one hundred percent of the financing
for the district's connection.
6. It is the intent of the general assembly that during the
implementation of Parts I and II of the system, the department of
administrative services shall employ a consultant to report to it on
the impact of changing technology on the potential cost and
capabilities of the system. It is also the intent of the general
assembly that the department of education shall study new techniques
in distant teaching. These reports shall be made available to the
general assembly.
7. The commission shall be responsible for the network design and
shall be responsible for the implementation of each component of the
network as it is incorporated into the network. The final design
selected shall optimize the routing for all users in order to assure
maximum utilization by all agencies of the state. Efficiencies
achieved in the implementation of the network shall be used to fund
further implementation and enhancement of the network, and shall be
considered part of the operational cost of the network. The
commission shall be responsible for all management, operations,
control switching, diagnostics, and maintenance functions of network
operations as provided in this chapter. The performance of these
duties is intended to provide optimal utilization of the facilities,
and the assurance that future growth requirements will be provided
for, and that sufficient network capacity will be available to meet
the needs of all users.
8. The education telecommunications council shall review all
requests for grants for educational telecommunications applications,
if they are a part of the Iowa communications network, to ensure that
the educational telecommunications application is consistent with the
telecommunications plan. All other grant requests shall be reviewed
as determined by the commission. If the education telecommunications
council finds that a grant request is inconsistent with the
telecommunications plan, the grant request shall not be allowed.
9. The procurement and maintenance of electronic equipment
including, but not limited to, master receiver antenna systems,
studio and production equipment, and broadcast system components
shall be provided for under the commission's contracts. The Iowa
public broadcasting board and other educational entities within the
state have the option to use their existing or replacement resources
and agreements in the operation and maintenance of these systems.
10. In addition to the other evaluation criteria specified in the
request for proposals issued pursuant to this section, the
commission, in evaluating proposals, shall base up to two percent of
the total possible points on the public benefit that can be derived
from a given proposal due to the increased private telecommunications
capacity available to Iowa citizens located in rural Iowa. For
purposes of this subsection, an area of the state is considered rural
if it is not part of a federally designated standard metropolitan
statistical area.
11. The fees charged for use of the network and state
communications shall be based on the ongoing expenses of the network
and of providing state communications. For the services rendered to
state agencies by the commission, the commission shall prepare a
statement of services rendered and the agencies shall pay in a manner
consistent with procedures established by the department of
administrative services.
12. The commission, on its own or as recommended by an advisory
committee of the commission and approved by the commission, shall
permit a fee to be charged by a receiving site to the originator of
the communication provided on the network. The fee charged shall be
for the purpose of recovering the operating costs of a receiving
site. The fee charged shall be reduced by an amount received by the
receiving site pursuant to a state appropriation for such costs, or
federal assistance received for such costs. Fees established under
this subsection shall be paid by the originator of the communication
directly to the receiving site. In the event that an entity requests
a receiving site location in a video classroom facility which is
authorized by, but not funded by, the originator of the
communication, the requesting entity shall be directly billed by the
video classroom facility for operating costs relating to the
communication. For purposes of this section, "operating costs"
include the costs associated with the management or coordination,
operations, utilities, classroom, equipment, maintenance, and other
costs directly related to providing the receiving site.
13. The auditor of state shall, no less than annually, examine
the financial condition and transactions of the commission as
provided in chapter 11. A copy of the auditor's report concerning
such examination shall be provided to the general assembly.
14. Access to the network shall be offered on an equal basis to
public and private agencies under subsection 8 if the private agency
contributes an amount toward the match requirement comparable to its
share of use for the part of the system in which it participates.
15. Access to the network shall be offered to the judicial
district departments of correctional services established in section
905.2, provided that such departments contribute an amount consistent
with their share of use for the part of the system in which the
departments participate, as determined by the commission.
16. Access shall be offered to hospitals licensed pursuant to
chapter 135B and physician clinics for diagnostic, clinical,
consultative, data, and educational services for the purpose of
developing a comprehensive, statewide telemedicine network, to an
agency of the federal government, and to a post office defined as a
public agency pursuant to section 8D.2, subsection 5. A hospital,
physician clinic, an agency of the federal government, or a post
office defined as a public agency pursuant to section 8D.2,
subsection 5, shall be responsible for all costs associated with
becoming a part of the network.
17. Access shall be offered to the judicial branch provided that
the judicial branch contributes an amount consistent with the
judicial branch's share of use for the part of the network in which
the judicial branch participates, as determined by the commission.
18. Notwithstanding chapter 476, the provisions of chapter 476
shall not apply to a public utility in furnishing a
telecommunications service or facility to the commission for the Iowa
communications network or to any authorized user of the Iowa
communications network for such authorized user's connection to the
network.
19. Access to the network shall be offered to the department of
public safety and the department of public defense for the purpose of
establishing and operating a shared data-only network providing law
enforcement, emergency management, disaster service, emergency
warning, and other emergency information dissemination services to
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies as provided in
sections 80.9 and 80.9B, and local emergency management offices
established under the authority of sections 29C.9 and 29C.10.
20. Access shall be offered to the Iowa hospital association only
for the purposes of collection, maintenance, and dissemination of
health and financial data for hospitals and for hospital education
services. The Iowa hospital association shall be responsible for all
costs associated with becoming part of the network, as determined by
the commission. Section History: Recent Form
89 Acts, ch 319, § 33
CS89, §18.136
90 Acts, ch 1266, §35; 90 Acts, ch 1272, §34; 92 Acts, ch 1246, §
24; 93 Acts, ch 179, §16; 94 Acts, ch 1184, §15--20, 29
C95, §8D.13
95 Acts, ch 20, § 1; 96 Acts, ch 1034, §1; 96 Acts, ch 1218, §27;
97 Acts, ch 210, §17; 98 Acts, ch 1047, § 6--8; 2003 Acts, ch 145,
§286; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §323; 2005 Acts, ch 178, §40; 2008 Acts, ch
1031, §96; 2008 Acts, ch 1188, §26
Referred to in § 8D.2, 8D.3, 8D.14
See Iowa Acts for provisions relating to appropriations for
network costs in a given year