Richard A. Hronicek Program Director, CalREN Pacific Bell 2600 Camino Ramon, Room 3S-306 San Ramon, CA 94583 510-867-6742 510-277-0673 (FAX) E-Mail: rahroni@srv.pacbell.com To those interested in CalREN: Plans to build a communications superhighway are proceeding at lightning speed, and what was one considered science fiction is rapidly becoming reality. But what of the high-speed telecommunications "cars" that will travel this road? Should we wait and build them once the infrastructure is complete, or start developing them now, so they're ready to hit the road as it opens? CalREN, the California Research and Education Network, is Pacific Bell's program to stimulate applications development and utilization while building the information superhighway. Enclosed is the first of two briefing packages on CalREN. Briefing Package No. 1 describes CalREN's purpose, objectives and preliminary program guidelines, which will be reviewed with the California Public Utilities Commission. Briefing Package No. 2 will provide more detailed information, including the dates for project proposal solicitation. Spread the word. Anyone who is interested will be added to the CalREN mailing list. Feel free to ask questions (FAX or E-Mail preferred). We will collect and address your questions in the second briefing package. Thank you for your interest in the CalREN program. Given the caliber of individuals and organizations who have expressed interest in CalREN, I am confident of its success. Sincerely, Rick Hronicek CalREN The California Research and Education Network Briefing Package No. 1 JUNE 30, 1993 I. What is CalREN? Pacific Bell has established a trust, known as CalREN, the California Research and Education Network. CalREN's purpose is to stimulate the development and utilization of communications applications for high-speed switched data communication services. Applications like remote medical diagnostics, distance learning, and telecommuting will improve California's quality of life as well as our economic competitiveness. Without some stimulus, application development and availability will be slowed because of a classic chicken and egg dilemma: which will come first, the communications infrastructure, or the applications? Applications developers will wait for the infrastructure to be put in place, while the infrastructure developers wait for market demand. CalREN attacks this deadlock by: 1) Accelerating the deployment of communication technology in two geographies, and 2) Promoting applications development by funding data communication services for approved projects. I.a Technology Deployment While applications that use the "fast lane" of the communications superhighway are an integral part of the information infrastructure, CalREN also encourages projects that utilize the "off-ramps and city streets." Pacific Bell plans to invest over $35 million in the deployment of these "off-ramps and city streets" services, as well as in the high-capacity fiber backbone infrastructure. The target services and platforms, ranging in speed from 64 kilobits per second (Kbps)to over 150 megabits per second (Mbps), are: -ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) -SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Service) -Frame Relay -ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) -SDS-56 (Switched 56) Attachment A provides more detail on these services, many of which are being deployed now. A plan is in place to widely deploy these services by the end of 1993 in the San Francisco Bay Area, and by the end of the first quarter of 1994 in the greater Los Angeles area. I.b Application Development CalREN will support projects aimed at the development of innovative high-speed telecommunications applications and those that accelerate the technology transfer of existing applications. The latter may use an existing application in a new or unique way or target a new or expanded set of users. CalREN's goal is to sponsor the development of applications that improve education and healthcare delivery, facilitate new business development and creation of jobs, improve California's economic competitiveness, and improve business and governmental processes. ------------------------------------------------ CalREN SUMMARY CalREN: Pacific Bell has set-up a trust to fund application projects' communication services. CalREN will solicit, review, and approve projects. The projects can be proof of concept, trial, pilot, prototype, or demonstration in nature. DURATION: CalREN will run through 1994 and 1995. Pacific Bell has not determined CalREN's status beyond 1995. Projects are expected to last from six to eighteen months. TARGET SERVICES: ATM, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, & SDS-56 GEOGRAPHY: San Francisco Bay Area and Greater LA SERVICES TIMING: The Pacific Bell service availability varies somewhat by technology. Generally speaking, the target services will be available by the end of 1993 in the Bay Area and end of the first quarter of 1994 in Los Angeles. ------------------------------------------------ II. What does CalREN sponsorship mean? CalREN will solicit project proposals. Approved projects will receive funding for their Pacific Bell data communications services (i.e., ATM, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, and SDS-56.) Funding will cover installation and recurring charges for the project's duration. Project participants are expected to contribute the other components of the project. A project must supply, or find partners to supply, the application software, computer equipment, communications equipment, end users, end user training, and project management. Project proposals with balanced contribution from all participants are preferred. III. How will CalREN Work? CalREN will solicit proposals through a Request for Proposal (RFP). CalREN will create a council, external to CalREN, to review and approve project proposals. CalREN may choose to work with existing non-profit organizations for portions of the project solicitation/review process. CalREN plans to announce several RFPs. The initial RFP for the San Francisco Bay Area is planned for the fourth quarter of 1993. An RFP for the greater Los Angeles area is planned for the first quarter of 1994. RFPs may be segmented by type of application, such as healthcare or education, or by communication technology, such as ATM, SMDS, etc. Details, including the timing of proposal solicitation and the submission process, will be addressed in the second briefing package, scheduled for release in September, 1993. IV. CalREN Project Selection Guidelines Following are preliminary guidelines for the evaluation of project proposals. These guidelines will closely parallel the request format for proposal submission. All guideline components may not apply to every project. These guidelines may be modified during the CalREN planning phase. More information will be available in the second briefing package. 1) Project Definition Each project should have well-defined objectives and timeframes for the development of a specific application or applications. The project must include the use of Pacific Bell's data communications services, e.g. ATM, SMDS, Frame Relay, ISDN, and/or SDS-56. 2) Project Purpose The application defined in the project may be a demonstration, proof of concept, prototype, trial or pilot. The project should last long enough to develop, implement, and measure the benefits of the application. CalREN expects projects to last from six to eighteen months. Projects which improve the quality of education or healthcare will be given priority in the proposal review process. However, approved projects will not be limited to these fields. CalREN will consider commercial and research projects which target either the public or private sector. Special consideration will be given to those projects which include disadvantaged users, or projects which include users who typically would not have access to technology. 3) Project Leadership Generally, projects should be led by the application developer or provider. Pacific Bell and CalREN will not formulate or lead projects. Well-defined project leadership and project management will be favorably considered in the evaluation process. 4) Participants CalREN encourages intra- and inter-industry collaboration. Generally, multiple-organization participation is expected. Participants should provide information on their leadership and/or experience in the field of endeavor. Success in other collaborative projects will contribute to a favorable review. Projects will require some level of data communications expertise. 5) Expected Benefits Project benefits should extend to an entire industry or a significant segment of the California population. The project must benefit a group larger than the participants. Projects should demonstrate the direct or potential benefits of the application. Projects must show a social benefit in the areas of education, healthcare, quality of life, environment, competitiveness or creation of jobs. Proposals must state how benefits will be measured, documented, and distributed. Most of a project's objectives and outcomes must be available for public review. At a minimum, this refers to a project's final report or findings. However, some parts of a project may be proprietary, with rights solely owned by one or more participants. A proposal must clearly distinguish its public and proprietary components. Pacific Bell and CalREN do not request or require rights to any project development. A balance of proprietary information protection and intellectual property rights protection should be agreed upon among the participants. 6) Project Resources/Contribution Participants must contribute to the project, in addition to working collaboratively with partners. Participants may contribute funds, in-kind services, equipment, applications, application development, personnel, or other non-Pacific Bell communications services to projects. Participants should specify their contributions in the project proposal. CalREN is looking for projects with balanced contribution from participants. Where balanced contribution is infeasible, participants should consider supporting a disadvantaged user group's access to the applications. For example, a university may "adopt" a K-12 school and provide the means for that school's participation. 7) Project Plan CalREN will sponsor well-organized projects, not ideas. The role of project management must be clearly spelled out in the proposal. The project plan must include expected start and completion dates (generally, six to eighteen months), communication requirements (including how many end users and locations), estimated cost of the targeted communications services (essentially equal to the project's CalREN funding request), milestones, project checkpoints, and well-defined measures of success. 8) Restrictions CalREN funds may only be used for the project's Pacific Bell data communications services. CalREN's support of a project cannot directly cause the disconnection or deferment of commercial telecommunications services from any carrier. CalREN funds cannot be used to fund services that an organization has already purchased. CalREN-supported projects cannot significantly interfere or compete with existing for-profit value-added services. V. Briefing Package No. 2 Briefing Package No. 2, scheduled for release in September, 1993, will include: - More information on Pacific Bell's service deployment plans for the San Francisco Bay Area and the greater Los Angeles area - CalREN RFP timeframes and schedules - Status on the role of any designated non-profit agents - More details on the proposal process - Answers to any questions received VI. Questions Please mail, fax or E-Mail any questions, keeping in mind that we intend to provide further information on the items above. Please communicate your questions as soon as possible, so that we can include the answers in our next briefing package, scheduled for release in September, 1993. Mailing List If you wish to be added to the mailing list please advise us via fax, E-Mail Similarly, please contact us to be removed from the distribution list. FAX:510-277-0673 ATTENTION: CalREN Program MAIL:The CalREN Program c/o Pacific Bell 2600 Camino Ramon, Room 3S-306 San Ramon, CA 94583 E-Mail Internet Address: CALREN@PACBELL.COM Attachment A CalREN Target Data Communication Services CalREN's Target services, ranging in speed from 64 Kilobits per second (Kbps) to over 150 Megabits per second (Mbps), can be envisioned as three tiers: TIER I: Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is an ultra-high-speed switching and transmission fabric which will initially operate at 155 Mbps, evolving to 45 Mbps and 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps). ATM will eventually allow the simultaneous transmission of voice, data and video-communications over a SONET-based fiber-optic network. Applications will include high definition imaging and teleseminars. TIER II: Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) is a public, connectionless cell-switched service. SMDS offers high-performance data transmission -- 1.544 to 45 Megabits per second -- spanning wide geographic areas, over the public network. It is ideal for high speed data applications among four or more locations. Based on cell-relay technology, SMDS provides a migration path to other broadband technologies that will allow it to support voice and video as well as data transmission. Applications include very high-volume file transfer such as CAD/CAM, medical imaging, animation and visualization. Frame Relay is a connection-oriented, virtual circuit service which operates at speeds from 56 Kbps to 1.544 Mbps. Frame relay is a fast-packet service that has been streamlined for speed by reducing node-to-node processing. Frame relay is ideal for mid- to high- bandwidth applications such as local area network (LAN) interconnection, file transfer, and telecommuting. TIER III: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) is a standardized telecommunications network architecture providing multi-channel, integrated, end-to-end connectivity. ISDN allows the high-speed transmission of electronic information through a single customer interface, whether the content is voice, data, video or graphic images. Basic rate ISDN provides two full 64 Kbps unrestricted "B" channels for voice or data and one 16 Kbps "D" channel for signalling and data, on a single line. Primary rate ISDN provides 23 "B" channels and one "D" channel. Switched Digital Service 56 (SDS-56) is a low-cost, digital, dial-up alternative to dedicated private lines or analog services. Users simply dial another user's SDS 56 number and transmit their data at 56 Kbps. SDS 56 is particularly attractive for intermittent, high-speed data transmission applications, such as video conferencing, imaging and high-speed telecommuting. Rick Hronicek Program Director - CalREN Pacific Bell