N-2-3-015.70 PEACESAT-Internet Connections for the Pac Rim by David Lassner The newest service available to PEACESAT users in the Pacific Basin is access to the Internet, the worldwide network of networks. Remote terminal connections from PEACESAT GOES-3 earthstations are made over a full-duplex satellite voice channel using 9600 bps modems. At the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, the satellite modem connection terminates in a Sun SPARCStation which is attached to the University's high-speed fiber-optic network. Internet connectivity is provided through a T1 (1.544 Mbps) connection to the FIX-West hub at the NASA Ames Research Center shared with the University and its PACCOM (Pacific Communication Network) Project. PEACESAT, the Pan-Pacific Education And Communication Experiments by Satellite program, is a project of the Social Science Research Institute of the University of Hawaii. It provided telecommunications services throughout the Pacific Basin beginning in 1971 using the NASA ATS-1 satellite, then ATS-3, and now the NOAA GOES-3 meterological satellite. The U.S. government has supported PEACESAT and its technology since the inception of the project, the University of Hawaii supports the program headquarters with federal assistance, and PEACESAT sites in the Pacific support their own local operations. Federal funds are now administered through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). NOAA provices PEACESAT with bandwidth for up to nine half-duplex "push-to-talk" voice channels and three full-duplex voice channels on GOES-3. The half-duplex channels are used for teleconferences among any or all sites, while the full-duplex channels can be used on a point-to-point basis for data, facsimile and slow-scan video transmission. PEACESAT airtime is available to all participants on an equal-access basis under participatory management policies overseen by the International PEACESAT Users Group. PEACESAT's mission includes: * Supporting environmental and medical emergencies * Supporting distance education * Providing access to information * Transfering appropriate technology and applications New sites may purchase PEACESAT earthstations for approximately $27,000 upon PEACESAT approval of their request and local approval of frequency use. For more information about PEACESAT, contact: PEACESAT Headquarters University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu HI 96822, USA tel: +1 808/956-7794 fax: +1 808/956-2512 ------------------------------- PEACESAT GOES-3 TERMINAL SITES Western Samoa FSM Solomon Islands Fiji Tuvalu Guam Kiribati, Marshall Islands Nauru Palau Papua New Guinea Vanuatu Australia Cook Islands Northern Marianas New Caledonia Tonga