FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
    �
    STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
    F. PHILIP HANDY,
    Chairman
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    T. WILLARD FAIR,
    Vice Chairman
    €
    Members
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    SALLY BRADSHAW
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    LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
    €
    CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
    €
    JULIA L. JOHNSON
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    WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
    €
    Dear FIRN User,
    JIM HORNE
    Commissioner of Education
    The core mission of FIRN2 is to provide direct connectivity to school districts in support of data reporting
    and Internet access. When FIRN was first established, dial-up and direct connections to the Department
    of Education network were provided to schools in order to support educational needs and data file
    transmissions to the education data centers.
    Over the past several years, the utilization of dial-up
    services has shifted from classroom use to home use by teachers and administrators.
    FIRN currently spends approximately $1,116,000 per year to maintain the dial-up services being offered.
    We must continue to support schools that need connectivity through dial-up services, but we can no
    longer support local or 800 dial-up services for public school staff outside of the school day. Current
    estimates indicate that at least 90% of the current costs will be saved by disconnecting the service in areas
    where direct connection into the district network is available to schools. The Department is providing all
    users of FIRN with a schedule outlining which geographic areas will be terminating dial-up services. This
    document can be located at http://www.firn2.net/dialups.
    Each school district is being given the opportunity to acquire "at no charge" the existing equipment and
    circuits used to provide dial-up services in their locale. School districts will be responsible for
    maintaining the local circuit(s) and absorbing associated recurring costs. In some rural areas where a
    commercial Internet Service Provider (ISP) is not available for school personnel, limited dial-up support
    will be provided by FIRN2.
    While we regret the loss of dial-up services for our teachers, FIRN2’s operational priorities must be
    addressed with the limited funding available. Standard FIRN services, such as E-mail, web pages and
    educational content will still be provided by FIRN2 through the Internet.
    I hope this response has answered your questions and concerns. If you have further questions or wish to
    discuss this modification in FIRN2’s service, please do not hesitate to contact me.
    Other documents available at the http://www.firn2.net site include a list of Alternative Internet Service
    Providers for areas of the state.
    Sincerely,
    Ruben Lopez
    RUBEN LOPEZ
    Chief Technology Officer
    325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1101 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 921-9334 • www.fldoe.org

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