OSHEAN’s Beacon 2.0 statewide network seeks faster, cheaper connectivity

CONNECTING THOUGHTS: George Loftus heads OSHEAN, a consortium of nonproft institutions developing a communications infrastructure. /
CONNECTING THOUGHTS: George Loftus heads OSHEAN, a consortium of nonproft institutions developing a communications infrastructure. /

The Beacon 2.0 project could be the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for nonprofits burdened by broadband costs.
It’s a fiber-optic network spanning Rhode Island and Bristol County, Mass., that tramples even current broadband speeds and, best of all, comes at an affordable price.
The Ocean State Higher Education Economic Development and Administrative Network, a nonprofit consortium of 30 institutions formed in 1999 to develop a communications infrastructure for Rhode Island, recently received $21.7 million from the American Recovery & Revitalization Act’s Federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program to continue expanding on its fiber optic segments. The federal money will be matched by $10.7 million in private funding.
OSHEAN will incorporate its current 90 miles of fiber optic cable into one network spanning 339 miles. The areas that already have fiber optic networks will see faster speed and the network will be expanded to more than 20 “community anchor institutions,” including libraries, universities and hospitals.
“This project will touch just about every citizen in Rhode Island; if you are a voter, the secretary of state’s office will be using this system, if you drive on our highways, the highway cameras will be using this system,” said George Loftus, president and CEO of consortium, also known as OSHEAN.
The consortium has already built segments of the fiber optic network; the stimulus money will allow the organization to “pull all the pieces together,” Loftus said.
Beacon 2.0 will have a capacity of 400 gigabits per second, allowing schools to connect at 1 gigabit per second, or 50 times faster than the average speed at a Rhode Island home, while universities and hospitals will be able to reach speeds up to 10 gigabits per second.
Loftus estimates OSHEAN will be able to process 10 gigabits for what 1 gigabit costs today and 1 gigabit for today’s price of 20 megabits; “Our mission … is to drive down the cost of broadband and deliver higher capacities to our members,” he said. The organization emphasizes affordability for nonprofits because they are the “least equipped” to pay for the technology but most in need. Faculty members at the Community College of Rhode Island will be able to send large documents to their students faster and in higher volumes, said Steve Vieira, the institution’s chief information officer who noted that the Newport campus, which has slower connectivity than other campuses, will see the biggest difference. CCRI will go from its current 1 gigabit per second to the project’s maximum speed of 10 gigabits per second.
“Hospitals aren’t making money these days. This technology is something that we need but couldn’t have afforded to do without this BTOP grant,” said Susan Cerrone Abely, vice president and chief information officer of Providence-based CharterCare Health Partners. The entity aims to connect at 4 gigabits or more.
OSHEAN estimates its 2010 revenue at $4 million; members pay at varying rates according to each individual’s capacity needs. After the initial $21.7 million federal investment has been spent, the network will be sustained by membership fees. OSHEAN was approved for the grant after showing the federal government it has a business model that will sustain the network for eight years.
“We have taken what we learned about connecting buildings on college campuses in the ’90s and extended it throughout Providence and now, we’re going to be able to take that to all five counties,” Loftus said.
OSHEAN, which only supports nonprofit entities, is also looking for a partner to help make the network available to commercial entities as well. Vendors will be able to compete for the contract through a request for proposal set to be filed in November or December, OSHEAN confirmed. •

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