Del. To Spend $30 Million To Build Fiber-Optic Network for Schools

By Peter West

The state of Delaware will spend $30 million to build a fiber-optic telecommunications network that within two years will link students and teachers in all its 7,000 public school classrooms.

Legislation signed by Gov. Tom Carper this month will set up a Delaware Center for Educational Technology to oversee the effort. The plan calls for each classroom in the state to have a computer link to the network that will enable educators and students to exchange telephone calls, video signals, and computer data.

In a similar development, the Iowa legislature has approved a controversial proposal to spend about $18 million to begin extending that state's fiber-optic communications network to almost 500 high schools and 100 libraries. The entire four-year project could cost as...