The Greater Austin Area Telecommunications Network (GAATN), formed in 1993 by an interlocal agreement, is a joint effort of the Austin Independent School District, City of Austin, Travis County, State of Texas Department of Information Resources, Austin Community College, The University of Texas at Austin, and Lower Colorado River Authority. These entities constructed a metropolitan-wide information superhighway in Austin, Texas. The GAATN fiber optic network provides the foundation for the partners' electronic communications including data, voice, and video services across the entire Austin metro area.
The network, owned and managed by the partners, consists of over 350 miles of fiber optic cable connecting more than 500 partner sites. The network can be expanded to include additional sites and the design ensures the system will remain operational despite potential disasters such as cable cuts which can put existing commercial networks out of service for days. The flexibility and cost savings for the GAATN partners increases every year and saves a combined $25 million per year.
The network is designed in physical ring configurations and consists of eleven rings. There are multiple interconnections between the rings for increased reliability. Each ring contains individual single mode fibers owned by each entity. Each GAATN participant deploys and maintains its own equipment on its strands of fiber. GAATN provides the platform for partners to provide to the public more efficient delivery of services for governmental and educational functions with cutting edge technology on a state-of-the-art fiber system.
In 2011, GAATN was named Community Broadband Organization of the Year by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). In recognition of the broadening role of government in technology, NATOA annually honors outstanding individuals and projects that seek to improve government and public options in broadband technology.
The network, owned and managed by the partners, consists of over 350 miles of fiber optic cable connecting more than 500 partner sites. The network can be expanded to include additional sites and the design ensures the system will remain operational despite potential disasters such as cable cuts which can put existing commercial networks out of service for days. The flexibility and cost savings for the GAATN partners increases every year and saves a combined $25 million per year.
The network is designed in physical ring configurations and consists of eleven rings. There are multiple interconnections between the rings for increased reliability. Each ring contains individual single mode fibers owned by each entity. Each GAATN participant deploys and maintains its own equipment on its strands of fiber. GAATN provides the platform for partners to provide to the public more efficient delivery of services for governmental and educational functions with cutting edge technology on a state-of-the-art fiber system.
In 2011, GAATN was named Community Broadband Organization of the Year by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). In recognition of the broadening role of government in technology, NATOA annually honors outstanding individuals and projects that seek to improve government and public options in broadband technology.
