Network Nebraska is a collaborative statewide networking effort under the auspices of the Nebraska Information Technology Commission (NITC) to share telecommunications resources, network services, and applications among eligible participants. Network Nebraska is the term used to describe the statewide multipurpose telecommunications backbone and all of its associated service offerings and support. Network Nebraska is made possible through a consortium of K-12 and higher education entities working together to provide a scalable, reliable and affordable infrastructure capable of carrying a spectrum of services and applications.
why us
Entities join Network Nebraska-Education in order to lower their transport and Internet costs and improve the quality, reliability and speed of their telecommunications services. Network Nebraska-Education works as a broker of services using State of Nebraska and University of Nebraska contracts. As an example, since 2007, Network Nebraska-Education has been able to lower the unit cost of commodity Internet by 99% for its members through aggregated demand and competitive bidding. Nebraska K-20 education now enjoys one of the lowest unit costs for commodity Internet in the entire country. Network Nebraska-Education is also the official Sponsored Education Group Participation (SEGP) pathway to Internet2, which enables access to a nationwide 100Gbps backbone and faster routing.
who uses us
- Network Nebraska-Education members number over 290 entities total, including:
- • 100% of K-12 public school districts
- • 100% of Educational Service Units
- • 100% of the University of Nebraska
- • 100% of state colleges
- • 100% of community and tribal colleges
- • 50% of private higher education
- • 20% of private K-12 schools
- • 2% of public libraries
join
In order to join Network Nebraska-Education, each entity must sign a Memorandum of Agreement and pay the monthly fees which provide the financial support to maintain the consortium support services and statewide backbone. An education "entity" is defined by the Nebraska Legislature as "a school district, a private, denominational, or parochial school, an educational service unit, a community college, a state college, the University of Nebraska, or a nonprofit private postsecondary educational institution". Commodity Internet is optional, but a highly sought service of Network Nebraska-Education.
