Wofford College and Converse College, both located in Spartanburg, S.C., have joined the ERC Fiber Network, an initiative that began in 1997 to improve the technological infrastructure of the western Carolinas.

David Whisnant, Vice President for Information Technology for Wofford College, says, "Wofford College is looking forward to the benefits of being connected to the ERC network. Our ERC connection has given us a redundant fiber entrance to the campus and reasonably priced access to high-speed network resources. It also has allowed us to join a regional academic and research community that has the potential for future growth, including connecting with the Internet2 network sometime in the future."

Converse College's Director of Information Technology, Judy Folk, is pleased to have the ERC as a complementary service. "Using two ISPs will allow us to balance internet traffic over two circuits and build redundancy into the system. This also fits into our disaster recovery plan. Just like Wofford College, we feel that ERC has provided a solution that will make our budget dollars go further and improve productivity while enhancing our network reliability and improve our quality of service."

ERC Broadband is excited to add these colleges to its network, which already includes Furman University. "Connecting these schools is another significant step toward achieving our mission which is creating and promoting a solid infrastructure for Internet access and related services. The end result is the growth of economic opportunity in our region through the technological growth of our education, research and business communities," says Hunter Goosmann, Director of Network Operations.

Congressman Charles H. Taylor (R, NC-11) was instrumental in forming and funding the ERC, a non-profit organization based in Asheville, N.C., that seeks to help the people and economy of the western Carolinas engage in and benefit from the new technology revolution. Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have actively worked with Congressman Taylor for the past 8 years on initiatives such as the Adventure of the American Mind Program, a teacher training program at Furman University and the University of South Carolina Upstate, as well as the ERC Fiber Network for the benefit of the region.

For more information, visit www.ercbroadband.org.

HIGH-RESOLUTION, REAL TIME RADAR DATA NOW AVAILABLE FROM NOAA

High-resolution radar data from the national network of Next Generation Radar
(NEXRAD) is now available in real time to government, university and private sector
users, the Commerce Department=s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) announced today.
This data represents the highest resolution picture of what the radar system is
"seeing" in real time B as the antenna spins. As a result, faster, higher resolution and
more detailed weather products will be developed. Researchers have already proven
the value of this data in various applications. Now it will be available to everyone.
The National Weather Service (NWS) will distribute the data from the Next
Generation Radar, also known as the WSR-88D, through four top-tier sites, said Tim
Crum, NWS NEXRAD Operations Focal Point with the Radar Operations Center in
Norman, Okla. Three of these sites -- Purdue University, University of Oklahoma, and The
Education and Research
Consortium of the Western Carolinas B have agreed to make Level II data available to
all private sector users equally on a cost-recovery basis without restriction on
redistribution or use. The fourth site, the NWS Telecommunication Operations Center, will
make data available through a Family of Services approach if there is interest from the
commercial community.
Users are free to determine their source of Level II data, either from these four
sites or from private companies and universities that will receive the data from the
top-tier sites, according to Crum.
"The National Weather Service is committed to working together with academia
and the private sector to develop products and services that enhance the shared goal
of protecting lives and property," said retired Air Force Brig. General David L. Johnson,
director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "Moreover, this action supports the
National Research Council's >Fair Weather= recommendations to enhance the
availability and dissemination of National Weather Service data.@
"Making this critical data available in real time is an important step in enhancing
that partnership, and we should see a new era in weather forecasting as a result of new
products and services yet to be developed using this enhanced, real time information,"
Johnson added.