RTC I

1
OC12 NAP 75mb Nap.net
Backbone Points of Presence
The stars on the map indicate an ICN Point of
Presence. The number within the star indicates
the MSA the POP is serving. MSAs are described
on the back of this document.
RTC II
RTC III
RTC V
RTC I
90mb ATT Internet
RTC IV
RTC VI
RTC VII
The state is divided into nine Regional
Technology Centers (RTCs). These centers
provide technical services. The staff located
in each RTC is responsible for maintaining the
ICN POPs and the circuits that connect
constituent facilities.
90mb Qwest
RTC VIII
ICN Points of Presence (POPs) and distribution
sites are located on university campuses,
community colleges, CMS facilities, private
businesses, community centers, county government
facilities, library systems, and Public K12
Regional Offices of Education.
RTC IX
30mb Savis.net
All ICN POPs are currently connected together via
DS3 (45mbs) or faster circuits. The backbone
circuits shown above will be completed by
December 31, 2001. The ICN network is connected
to the Internet with multiple connections ranging
from DS3 to OC12 speeds. Further, five different
providers are utilized to ensure that the ICN has
the fastest and most robust Internet connectivity
available in the state of Illinois.
For more information on how to connect your
institution to the Illinois Century Network Call
[phone] or www.linc2icn.net
2
Illinois Telephone Demographics
Market Service Areas (MSAs) or Local Access and
Transport Areas (LATAs) define communities of
interest that may be served by one or more
local telephone companies. To call or connect a
data circuit from one MSA to a location in
another MSA requires the services of a long
distance provider such as Sprint, ATT, or MCI.

MSA 02
MSA 04
MSA 01
MSA 03
MSA 06
Illinois has 15 major MSAs. The ICN has
established at least one point of presence
(POP) in each of these MSAs. A POP is a
secure and environmentally managed room where the
ICN maintains and manages a variety of
telecommunication equipment such as routers and
ATM switches. Schools, libraries, and other
entities do not have to purchase service from a
long distance carrier in order to connect to the
ICN. This saves ICN constituents a considerable
amount of money. A state provisioned circuit
from one MSA to another is, for education,
typically around 1,600 per month. A circuit
within an MSA is around 500 per month.
MSA 17
MSA 05
MSA 07
MSA 09
MSA 10
MSA 14
MSA 08
MSA 11
MSA 15
The ICN aggregates traffic at the POP before
passing it to the next POP or to the Internet.
In this way, many entities can utilize the same
set of circuits for Internet access. This set of
circuits which connect the ICN POPs together and
to the Internet is called the ICN network
backbone.
MSA 12
The ICN backbone network is managed out of
Springfield. The Illinois Department of Central
Management Services operates a 24 hour, 7 day
per week Network Operations Center where network
problems are reported and resolved. ICN
technical staff constantly monitor the network
to insure that traffic is moving through all
parts of the backbone efficiently.
Printed by Authority of the State of
Illinois 5,000c April 2000