K-20 Network

The K-20 Educational Network is a high-speed, high-capacity network that connects colleges, universities, K-12 school districts and libraries across Washington state. K-12 schools and educational organizations rely on the K-20 network to run hundreds of data-based applications that support school administration, distance learning and operations.

Videoconferencing & Tech Support
Schedule a video conference
Contact K-20 network tech support

K-20 Network Costs & Master Contracts
Get K-20 network master contract information
Understand co-pays and ISP costs

Bandwidth, Caching Services & IP Addresses
Request more bandwidth
Locate a DNS caching server
Add or manage IP addresses

Broadband
Learn more about broadband

Schedule a Video Conference

• Set up a single or multiple-point VC – use the K20 Online Resource Reservation System (KORRS). Here’s the list of K-20 sites.
• Set up a statewide VC – contact your ESD-based K-20 scheduler.
• Video conferencing for teaching and learning.

K-20 Technical Support
RITUs are frontline support for school districts.

• Contact your RITU (Regional Institutional Technical Unit).
• Contact your ITU (Institutional Technical Unit).

Master Contracts (Optional Use) for Network & Telecom Equipment
School districts can take advantage of the state’s E-rate eligible master contracts. These are contracts for which the state has:

• Posted a Form 470.
• Run a fair, open and competitive bidding process.
• Awarded optional-use master contracts.

Two kinds of services are available through these contracts.

1. Cellular — contracts with AT&T, Sprint and Verizon.
2. Advanced ethernet — contracts with eight vendors.

Master Contract Block 5 Information for E-rate Form 471
Here is the Block 5 info for E-rate form 471 you’ll need to buy E-rate eligible services from state master contracts. And on the USAC site, smart guidance that will help you use these contracts to maximize the E-rate discount.

• Full list of master contracts on the Department of Enterprise Services site.
• K-20 Network and E-rate discount program on OSPI’s EdTech site.

K-20 Network Co-pay Amounts & ISP Cost Basics
Co-Pays | ISP Costs

There are two sources of costs for K-20 network users:

1. Quarterly co-pays for bandwidth.
2. Cost of Internet access through the network’s Internet Service Provider (ISP), the Pacific Northwest GigaPOP.

Co-pay & ISP Cost Summary
Maximum costs for 2012-13:

• First 6 mbps — $407/mbps, ($400/mbps co-pay + $7/Mbps ISP)
• More than 6 mbps — $2,442 for the first 6 mbps, ($2,400 co-pay + $42 ISP). Usage over 6 mbps — $67/mbps ($60/mbps co-pay + $7/mbps ISP)

Quarterly Co-pay Amounts
K-12 organizations connected to the K-20 network must meet a quarterly co-pay amount based on bandwidth usage at the 95th percentile of total network use. Co-pay amounts are far lower than the actual cost to provide network connection and technical support.

Usage Not Capacity
Usage not capacity determines the co-pay costs for all K-12 educational organizations connected to the K-20 network. Calculated at the 95th percentile, usage means that you pay only for the bandwidth you use, not the full bandwidth capacity of the network.

95th Percentile & How We Calculate It

1. Measure bandwidth usage every 5 minutes — 12 measurements per hour, 24 hours per day, 90 days per quarter.
• 12*24*90 = 25,920 measurements per quarter
2. Order the measurements from smallest to largest.
3. Discard the top 5% — 1,296 — of the 25,920 measurements.
• 108 hours or 6,480 minutes (1,296*5 minutes)
4. Bill K-20 network users at the 1,297th largest measurement.
• 95th percentile of total network usage.

Co-pay Amounts — 2010 through 2011

ISP Costs
The K-20 network is an intranet that connects K-12 organizations across Washington. Internet access is possible because OSPI negotiates a contract with the Internet Service Provider (ISP) —Pacific Northwest GigaPOP — on behalf of all K-12 customers connected to the network.

Costs Based on Aggregate Use
ISP costs are actuals based on the real usage of the network totaled across all K-12 customers at the end of each year. Rates also factor in reimbursements for E-rate. So, the greater the aggregate use, the lower the per-mbps rate for each site.

OSPI bills K-20 network users at the end of each fiscal year once usage data is available for third quarter — January 1 through March 31 — and it becomes possible to project fourth quarter data accurately — April 1 through June 30. OSPI uses actual data measurements through June 10 and then estimates an amount through June 30.

ISP Fees Are Declining
2000 through 2001

• $623,000+ for ISP costs. Highest quarterly usage was 110 Mbps

• Less than $225,000 estimated costs. Each quarter so far, K-12 organizations use more than 2.5 gigabits of network bandwidth.

Learn More About Broadband
Use the National Broadband Map to search, analyze and map broadband availability across the United States.

Check out the Washington State Broadband Office for up-to-date information on the move to install affordable broadband service across Washington. This site represents a partnership among federal and state governments, broadband service providers, citizens and community-based organizations.

Request More Bandwidth
Here’s how to apply.
Bandwidth usage charts

Locate a DNS Caching Server
There are servers at three K-20 network node sites.

IP Address Management
How to apply for an IP address.
Criteria and Requirements

E-rate Home

K-20 Network Master Contract & Policy

• K-20 Master Contract (more information)
• Conditions of Use and Acceptable Use

K-20 Support
Technical support home

• Contact your RITU (Regional Institutional Technical Unit).
• Contact your ITU (Institutional Technical Unit).

Contact Us
State contacts for policy, VC issues and more

Reports

• State Auditor's Report, 2011 (PDF)
• K-20 Network Web site