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The Air Technology Network (ATN) is an interactive television (ITV) network that consists of one-way
video
uplinks reaching receive-only downlinks but with two-way audio interaction. ATN
uses compressed digital video (CDV), which greatly reduces the cost of
transmission, but provides high quality, full motion video. ATN now reaches
classrooms across 150 AF sites within the US (including Alaska and Hawaii) and
13 locations in Europe and the Western Pacific, with education & training
programs broadcast from uplinks at Wright-Patterson (the first uplink on ATN),
Fairchild, Keesler, Maxwell, and Sheppard AFBs. The connection to
Europe is being made through the Global
Broadcast Service with a gateway uplink at Norfolk, Virginia. WestPac is being
reached by using Cyberstar, Inc. satellite service. Since its development in
1991, ATN has been used to provide continuing education & training to over
32,000 students. The network is managed by the ATN Program Management Office,
which is located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base,
Ohio. The PMO coordinates the broadcast
schedule for all the users and oversees the technical operation and development
of the network. The PMO (AFIADL OL-A) is a division of the Air Force Institute
for Advanced Distributed Learning headquartered at Maxwell AFB.
ATN is fully compatible with the Air National Guard’s
Warrior Network and the Army’s Satellite Education Network. These DOD networks
are part of the larger federal government system, the
Government Education and Training Network
(GETN), which ATN pioneered. GETN is a network of networks operated by a
consortium of 17 federal agencies. With over 10,000 scheduled hours of
broadcasting each year (4,500 from ATN alone), from 15 uplinks reaching out to
over 1,500 receive sites, GETN offers high-quality, low-cost ITV with virtually
limitless distribution capability within the US today and overseas.
The ATN Advantage – Point Paper |
