PenTeleData - Internet, hosting, development, and communication solutions

Customer: SEDA COG
In 1996, when the Lewisburg, Pennsylvania-based SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) needed to move away from dependence upon a patchwork of its employees' residential dial-up access accounts for its Internet connection at the office, PenTeleData came through with a reliable, high-speed dedicated T1 Internet solution.

Staff and clients of SEDA-COG - a regional multi-county development agency providing leadership, expertise and services to communities, business institutions and residents across Pennsylvania - needed an Internet service provider they could trust that offered reliable networking solutions to rural areas. Shortly after linking SEDA-COG with a T1 Internet connection, PenTeleData provided domain name service and its first website.

Its Geographic Information Systems processed massive digital files and needed to share that data with other local entities - a driving factor that influenced SEDA-COG's decision to commit to PenTeleData's ATM solution. A network technology based on the transfer of data in cells or packets of a fixed size, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) allows equipment to transmit video, audio and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data clogs the line.

Over the next few years, SEDA-COG, central Pennsylvania's Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit and other related agencies developed a proposal to build a physical data network and defined the necessary bandwidth for all its uses.

"As our funding came together and more information was gathered, it became obvious that we had neither the cash, nor equipment, nor staff to build and maintain such a project," says Jim Baker, Chief of the Information Technology Group. "It was decided to use the funding we had to entice providers to come into the area by contracting for that much bandwidth, and PenTeleData's proposal to build an ATM network to supply our needs was the winning proposal."

According to Baker, other vendors couldn't compete with PenTeleData's quality of service capabilities offered by ATM and the ability to use customized, rapidly configurable 'pipes' between users for high-speed, secure data transmissions.

"Excess capacity was offered to the general public, bringing broadband to this area years before it would normally have come," he says.

SEDA-COG runs multiple servers from its location - web, e-mail, map, and FTP and employs a staff of more than 70 professionals in its offices, offers 80 websites from its web server and uses PenTeleData's 800 dial-in service to connect from the road. PenTeleData's ATM network is also used to complete projects for other local organizations that would not have been possible otherwise, says Baker, adding that both the Union and Snyder County courthouses with their shared prison, connected to the same ATM system, were wired with full motion video equipment in all three locations to provide full-time video connections without per-minute charges associated with a standard ISDN connection, Baker says. This project has since been expanded.

"We've connected the three original sites over custom 'pipes' to yet another node on the ATM network which has bridging equipment able to translate ATM video signals for ISDN connectivity anywhere in the world," he adds. "The savings ATM provided, compared to the cost of equipping each of the three sites with this same capability, was significant. Recently, we coordinated with the Carbon Snyder Intermediate Unit to install a gateway so that any of those sites can now connect to the outside world of video conferencing through one single point," he says.

Baker also outlined such application scenarios employed by SEDA-COG and supported by PenTeleData as managing the Snyder County network, from its firewall to its servers and sometimes workstations, over the ATM connection; SEDA-COG's use of PenTeleData's DNS services for many of the websites hosted for nonprofit and government organizations and finally, its joint ventures with PenTeleData's technical and sales staff to find solutions for connectivity and security problems for many of its local clients. In comparing SEDA-COG's technology infrastructure against similar organizations in its industry, SEDA-COG's network is a model, modern operation from an information technology standpoint.

"We think that we are a leader in many ways - from equipment to wiring," he says. "Our internal operations are somewhat unique, however, we are organized into departments which are largely independent so there is no single, central repository of data. Rather, each department tracks its data in a format appropriate to it. For instance, one department runs an in-house developed database on a SunOS system. The GIS departments use ARC as a data repository. And since we are government we deal mostly in words - large amounts of our data are in Word documents."

Always making improvements to SEDA-COG's information technology infrastructure, Baker strives to ensure the network receives top priority.

"I am never content with the network. Unfortunately, the network is seen here as a 'given' much like the air - and no one budgets the 'air' until they can't breathe anymore." he says.

The success of the comprehensive ATM networking and dedicated Internet connection solution employed by longtime customer SEDA-COG demonstrates an effective technology partnership with PenTeleData - specialists to trust to deliver satisfaction, dependability and expandability to any organization on time and on budget.


Customer Stories... Geisinger Health System First National Bank of Palmerton Kutztown Area School District Manheim Central School District SEDA COG Palmerton Hospital DeSales University Target Select Northern Tioga School District Phillipsburg School District Ephrata Community Hospital Bucknell University Moravian College		Customer: SEDA COG In 1996, when the Lewisburg, Pennsylvania-based SEDA-Council of Governments (SEDA-COG) needed to move away from dependence upon a patchwork of its employees' residential dial-up access accounts for its Internet connection at the office, PenTeleData came through with a reliable, high-speed dedicated T1 Internet solution. Staff and clients of SEDA-COG - a regional multi-county development agency providing leadership, expertise and services to communities, business institutions and residents across Pennsylvania - needed an Internet service provider they could trust that offered reliable networking solutions to rural areas. Shortly after linking SEDA-COG with a T1 Internet connection, PenTeleData provided domain name service and its first website. Its Geographic Information Systems processed massive digital files and needed to share that data with other local entities - a driving factor that influenced SEDA-COG's decision to commit to PenTeleData's ATM solution. A network technology based on the transfer of data in cells or packets of a fixed size, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) allows equipment to transmit video, audio and computer data over the same network, and assure that no single type of data clogs the line. Over the next few years, SEDA-COG, central Pennsylvania's Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit and other related agencies developed a proposal to build a physical data network and defined the necessary bandwidth for all its uses. "As our funding came together and more information was gathered, it became obvious that we had neither the cash, nor equipment, nor staff to build and maintain such a project," says Jim Baker, Chief of the Information Technology Group. "It was decided to use the funding we had to entice providers to come into the area by contracting for that much bandwidth, and PenTeleData's proposal to build an ATM network to supply our needs was the winning proposal." According to Baker, other vendors couldn't compete with PenTeleData's quality of service capabilities offered by ATM and the ability to use customized, rapidly configurable 'pipes' between users for high-speed, secure data transmissions. "Excess capacity was offered to the general public, bringing broadband to this area years before it would normally have come," he says. SEDA-COG runs multiple servers from its location - web, e-mail, map, and FTP and employs a staff of more than 70 professionals in its offices, offers 80 websites from its web server and uses PenTeleData's 800 dial-in service to connect from the road. PenTeleData's ATM network is also used to complete projects for other local organizations that would not have been possible otherwise, says Baker, adding that both the Union and Snyder County courthouses with their shared prison, connected to the same ATM system, were wired with full motion video equipment in all three locations to provide full-time video connections without per-minute charges associated with a standard ISDN connection, Baker says. This project has since been expanded. "We've connected the three original sites over custom 'pipes' to yet another node on the ATM network which has bridging equipment able to translate ATM video signals for ISDN connectivity anywhere in the world," he adds. "The savings ATM provided, compared to the cost of equipping each of the three sites with this same capability, was significant. Recently, we coordinated with the Carbon Snyder Intermediate Unit to install a gateway so that any of those sites can now connect to the outside world of video conferencing through one single point," he says. Baker also outlined such application scenarios employed by SEDA-COG and supported by PenTeleData as managing the Snyder County network, from its firewall to its servers and sometimes workstations, over the ATM connection; SEDA-COG's use of PenTeleData's DNS services for many of the websites hosted for nonprofit and government organizations and finally, its joint ventures with PenTeleData's technical and sales staff to find solutions for connectivity and security problems for many of its local clients. In comparing SEDA-COG's technology infrastructure against similar organizations in its industry, SEDA-COG's network is a model, modern operation from an information technology standpoint. "We think that we are a leader in many ways - from equipment to wiring," he says. "Our internal operations are somewhat unique, however, we are organized into departments which are largely independent so there is no single, central repository of data. Rather, each department tracks its data in a format appropriate to it. For instance, one department runs an in-house developed database on a SunOS system. The GIS departments use ARC as a data repository. And since we are government we deal mostly in words - large amounts of our data are in Word documents." Always making improvements to SEDA-COG's information technology infrastructure, Baker strives to ensure the network receives top priority. "I am never content with the network. Unfortunately, the network is seen here as a 'given' much like the air - and no one budgets the 'air' until they can't breathe anymore." he says. The success of the comprehensive ATM networking and dedicated Internet connection solution employed by longtime customer SEDA-COG demonstrates an effective technology partnership with PenTeleData - specialists to trust to deliver satisfaction, dependability and expandability to any organization on time and on budget.