GDC Goes the Distance for Education in North Dakota
MIDDLEBURY, Conn. — General DataComm Industries, Inc (NYSE:GDC) took another step to close the digital divide with the delivery of an advanced multimedia distance learning solution to Red River and Dickey Rural Telephone Cooperative in support of schools in southeastern North Dakota.
Red River and Dickey Rural Telephone adopted the GDC solution as part of a plan to upgrade an existing analog distance learning video system to a higher quality and more cost-efficient ATM network. The new network connects 13 rural K-12 and vocational learning facilities offering broadcast quality video and audio as well as access to Internet services for participating schools.
“We are very pleased to deliver solutions that enhance the quality of public education,” said Chuck Johnson, CEO of General DataComm. “Our multimedia technology allows participating schools in North Dakota to reduce costs through bandwidth savings, ease of operation, and reliable performance.”
The distance learning network features GDC’s award-winning MAC 500 video access concentrator, GDC’s APEX ATM core switching technology, and Todd Video Network Management Systems TC Reliance videoconference scheduling software. The MAC 500 provides low delay, low bandwidth, MPEG-2 DVD quality video and audio as well as high speed Ethernet for Internet access. The MAC 500s, deployed at thirteen public schools, communicate over a mesh ATM network consisting of GDC APEX and Nortel Passport ATM switches located at seven central office locations. Todd Communication’s fully integrated TC Reliance scheduling system automates and simplifies the management of classroom sessions.
“Our goal was to improve video quality to our schools and offer greater reliability in our telecommunications infrastructure by utilizing GDC’s APEX as our ATM backbone transport,” said Ardon Doran, General Manager of Red River Telephone.
About Red River Telephone
Red River Telephone and Red River Telecom, located in Abercrombie, North Dakota, are part of an independent telephone cooperative providing telephone services to 9 exchanges in Southeastern North Dakota and West Central Minnesota. Red River Telephone, in cooperation with Barnesville Telephone and Halstad Telephone, also provides local access to the Internet to 13 communities in the Southern Red River Valley.
About General DataComm, Inc.
General DataComm (NYSE:GDC) is a leader in the design, development, and manufacture of broadband, multimedia, and network access communications for service provider, government, and private enterprise networks. VITAL Network Services L.L.C. provides a full range of professional and traditional support services worldwide for converging data, voice, and video networks.
Contact Information
General DataComm, Inc., Middlebury
John Wood, 203/577-6222
