By Katie McConnell

Halfway through the first year of the 21st century (or halfway through the last year of the 20th century, depending on which philosophy you subscribe to), the topic of distance education continues to be a hot one. Just five years ago, many technicians and educators dismissed distance education as a passing fad that not only did not make sense for education, but would never prove to be a viable business.

Today, there is a shift.

Many of the nay-sayers have re-thought their positions as more companies and more schools employ some form of distance education. Moreover, many companies are actually making money, laughing, if you will, all the way to the bank.

But a controversy continues.

Whether or not distance education will sustain its momentum does not seem to be the question. Rather, how education is sent across distances is the new issue that needs to be resolved. In only a few years, a large part of the world has become wired, with–for instance–more people signing up for AOL every day than are being born, according to Steve Case, president and CEO of AOL, at a recent speech in Chicago, IL. So, do we need satellites anymore…for distance education, at least? According to most of the people interviewed for this article, the answer is a resounding “yes.”

Okay, okay, as you read the following article, you will not be surprised that most of the people interviewed work for “satellite” companies. However, some interviewed are educators or past-educators, and although the “satellite” companies are espousing the riches of satellite-based distance education, they’ve all brought up one very important point–it’s not quite a wired world.

Not Quite a Wired World

In fiber-rich countries such as the United States, Canada and England, satellite-based distance education is at the present being threatened by its terrestrial counterparts, if you are simply talking about schools and businesses being equipped to access distance education programs or download complementary tools from the Internet. However, there are three factors here that support a game plan for satellite-based distance education: 1) not all countries are or can be wired due to terrestrial limitations, such as mountains; 2) true distance education in the eyes of the pundits incorporates a degree of real-time interaction; and 3) many companies and schools that want to use distance education want a point-to-multipoint framework. On this third point, as was previously mentioned, not all regions of the world–including regions within fiber-rich countries–are wired. The best method, then, of broadcasting interactive, distance education programming continues to be satellites.

Arlene Krebs, a consultant for the distance education market for the past 17 years, says, “Satellite-based distance learning allows you to go from point to multipoint to deliver large volumes of information, which the Internet is not yet capable of. And it allows for K-12 schools, small and large groups, simultaneous viewing. Satellites are also excellent for ‘store and forward’ video program delivery, where materials can be downloaded onto a server or VCR and then re-distributed.”

But, in the words of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, “Words, words, words, I’m so sick and tired of words, show me.” Where’s the proof that satellites can and should do the job? In Mexico.

According to Michael Rack, vice president of marketing for International Datacasting (IDC), there are more than 20,000 schools in Mexico employing distance learning by using satellites. And he should know, since those schools are currently being upgraded with IDC’s satellite-based Superflex digital broadcast system to provide students with Internet and video content. Furthermore, as we went to press, the company announced, along with its Mexico-based partner, Grupo Estercom S.A. de C.V., a new contract with Mexico’s Instituto Technologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM), to provide state-of-the-art educational satellite distribution to ITESM’s Universidad Virtual Empresarial (UVE) Network. The system, which is an expansion of the system that the ITESM Universidad Virtual purchased from IDC in 1999, will provide multimedia video and data via satellite datacasting to UVE’s corporate customers across Mexico and internationally. This contract for the UVE expansion is valued at $15,000 with the possibility of future follow-on orders.

Lack of access to wires, however, is of course not the only reason why many believe satellites are the best solution for distance learning. Today is a world of television and entertainment. During the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein watched updates on the war on CNN; refugees in Kosovo watched the progress of the war from television sets hooked up to satellite dishes in the make-shift camps; and the late King Hussein of Jordan went into a meeting of heads of state, jokingly demanding $1 million, mocking the Dr. Evil character from the Austin Powers film. My point is, that despite the fact that my third grade teacher called it the boob tube and the brain drain, television is actually an excellent way of broadcasting information. And heads of states and rock stars aren’t the only ones noticing. School boards and corporations around the world are looking to technology to provide students and employees easier access to education. But, with the proliferation of television, kids these days–not to mention adults these days–demand good, quality video if they are expected to watch educational programming.

Greg Browning, vice president of network services for Convergent Media Systems, notes that when Convergent helps a client determine the best distance learning solution for their organization, they put the technology on the back burner until they understand the client’s needs. If the solution demands video, it’s Browning’s belief that satellite- delivered video is the best. “What we’re finding,” he says, “is that live interactive training delivered by satellite is most effective because of the quality of video. No matter the length of the training or communications program, people still want to see high-quality video.”

And that quality of video just isn’t there yet for the Internet.

Satellites vs. the Internet

Pegging satellites against the Internet in an attempt to see who will win at distance education is like pegging Mohammed Ali against Casius Clay to see who really is the greatest. (For those of you who aren’t boxing fans, Mohammed Ali changed his name from Casius Clay when he became a Muslim.) One day soon, TV-quality video and real-time interactivity will be available on the Internet. The bandwidth that will make (and is making) that happen comes from satellite. Just like the fiber vs. satellite wars ended in a tie, with most people agreeing that the two would work to complement each other, satellite-based and fiber-based distance learning will work together to enrich people’s experiences.

For instance, Teleglobe announced, as we went to press, that it had entered into an agreement with the University of Costa Rica “for provision of satellite access to content located on Teleglobe’s global Internet backbone network,” according to the release. The University is host to Costa Rica’s CRnet Research and Education network. Teleglobe’s satellite link will provide access to Internet content for other schools and universities that are part of the CRnet network.

IDC’s Rack states that the company is “seeing more and more activity in the satellite-based distance education market. Educators are trying to find the most efficient and effective way to deliver content to schools, and as we become an even more information-based society, students will be demanding that type of educational process.” Because all mediums will be desired, Rack sees satellites as the best solution because “you can just pop a satellite receiver and antenna onto the school” and the whole school will have access to television, the Internet and thus, distance education.

The Market

Unlike five years ago when I first covered the topic of distance education, there is no question today in the collective mind of educators and technology companies that a market exists. In fact, many would go as far as saying that it is booming. According to the Web site of W.R. Hambrecht and Co., in the next year, the stock market will see dozens of distance-education companies emerge. The report states that “the segment is poised to grow exponentially over the next several years.”

According to W.R. Hambrecht and Co., distance education “is a rapidly emerging market that will increasingly influence how we learn in schools, in the work force, and at home.”

Echostar’s Paulie Dawkins, director of education and business solutions, couldn’t agree more. The company supplies four percent of its bandwidth, as is mandated by the FCC, for public interest programming. Since the FCC’s rule went into effect last year, Echostar has launched 11 new channels of public interest that are all focused on distance education. What’s striking, however, is that Dawkins says that she is seeing proposals every day where groups want to work with Echostar on distance education ventures. “In fact, we get more proposals for distance education than on the business side,” she says. “On the commercial side, there is an overwhelming number of groups that want to do distance education. And I can’t tell you how many ‘dot.coms’ are coming forward proposing education on the Internet.”

Cyberstar, which provides distance learning services to Fortune 1000 companies, also sees growing opportunities for satellites in distance learning ventures that involve Internet or Intranet access. “I see distance education as a booming market for satellites,” says Nancy Norris, vice president of marketing enterprise services for Cyberstar. “Large companies are frequently requesting content for IP multicast applications. Satellites are more cost-effective for companies to multicast IP-based information to people’s desktops or classrooms.” She points out that satellites are well designed for this environment, even for companies based in fiber-rich areas, because they oftentimes have ancillary offices scattered throughout the world in non-fiber rich areas. Furthermore, she adds, “you are still looking at a point-to-point connection in a wired world. Via satellite, multicast can reach everyone at the same time for the same price.”

Another company that sees great promise for satellite-based distance education in an Internet world is Viacast Networks Inc. (Viacast). Among its inventory of products is the IP Companion, which is being used by Cyberstar for the distance learning network being employed by its customer, Cisco. Doug Medina, vice president of marketing, notes that the “IP Companion is being used for distance learning via satellite, although the technology can be used regardless of network infrastructure.” And according to Medina, “A lot of customers are using the IP Companion to enhance the capabilities of their Internet infrastructure, delivering broadband content encapsulated in Internet protocol.” Viacast’s enabling technology is being used for a variety of distance learning initiatives, including a joint effort with ETNetworks to provide satellite-based training for IBM Worldwide.

If ever there was a testament, however, that the distance education market is booming, it is Scott Zimmer. The seventh employee to be hired by Echostar, Zimmer was in an enviable position as president of the international division. He was at Echostar when the company won the infamous DBS auction; he was there when the company successfully launched a satellite on Long March when satellites in two prior launches and one subsequent launch blew up in awesome failures; he was there to witness the company’s public offering; and he was there to hear all the Wall Street analysts announce that Dish was a stock to buy. And he left. Why? Because he has a vision. He wants to change the education system and bring technology to schools all around the world. So, he started Educating Everyone, a not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to make distance learning in schools as ubiquitous as text books. While he has been “officially” dedicated to this mission for just the past couple of years, Zimmer has pursued this idea in one fashion or another for the past 10. He is dedicated–in every sense of the word–to merging education and technology. In fact, he and his wife recently bought a school that was originally built in 1916, which they have re-wired for the 21st century.

Somewhat surprising, Zimmer actually sees a dwindling need for satellites in distance education in the K-12 arena. “Satellites will always be used to send lots of data from point to multipoint. Ka-band will allow for greater interactivity where there is no access to wires. But, with the beginning of video streaming and greater wideband applications, satellite will play a smaller and smaller role,” he says. While his commercial counterparts claim that the quality of video will be of higher priority among students and educators, Zimmer disagrees. “No matter how high our standards in the educational arena are for video,” he says, “it will never be as high as it is for entertainment, because education is purposeful and entertainment is not.”

Of course, only time will tell. But, if you include in the definition of distance education commercial applications and virtual University courses, then satellites will continue to play an important role.

Katie McConnell is a contributing editor to Via Satellite and a graduate candidate in education at DePaul University. She can be reached at [email protected]. at DePaul University in Chicago.