MAHEC has a "steerable" satellite dish which can be used to access satellite transmissions. This type of dish can be steered to point at different satellites with geostationary orbits. "Geostationary" means they do not seem to move across the sky as the Sun does, but stay fixed in one location relative to an observer on Earth. Many agencies, educational institutions, and private commercial businesses offer educational sessions via satellite transmissions. In order to do so they "uplink," sending their broadcast signal to the satellite (and paying a substantial fee to do so). To uplink and send to a satellite, you need a special broadcast transmission facility—so just owning a satellite dish does not provide this capability. A satellite dish allows you to "downlink" a satellite transmission provided that you know the satellite’s name and coordinates so you can locate it with the dish.

Satellite Programs Via MAHEC's Satellite Dish and WNC HealthLink>

MAHEC can access any unscrambled satellite program over satellites transmitting over either Ku or C band frequency. MAHEC does not pay for any satellite programming which requires a monthly service fee or which requires membership or other charges. We cannot receive cable channels, for example. However, there are many free programs, sponsored by government agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control. Before we can respond to your request for a satellite program, we will need to have the following information from you:

• Who is the sponsoring agency/institution?
• Is the program free of charge?
• If the program requires a registration fee, who will pay for the cost?
• Name of the satellite 
• Over Ku or C band
• Transponder Number (channel)

The MAHEC Center for e-Learning and Telehealth provides technical support for receiving satellite signals, for scheduling WNC HealthLink sites that have been requested, for transmitting the satellite signal over the WNC HealthLink videoconference network to the scheduled sites, and for technical trouble-shooting during the satellite program. Often, sponsors of satellite programs require participating sites to designate a site coordinator to receive and distribute materials, to register participants, and to facilitate phoning or faxing questions during a program. Telehealth does not provide this type of support. Each site wishing to participate in programs requiring this type of coordinator will need to find someone on-site willing to fill this role. You will want to understand these types of requirements carefully before making a decision to request a satellite program.

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. It is a public telecommunication service that is obtained from the phone company. ISDN is not available in all locations since phone companies must have the specialized hardware in their central offices. For ISDN, the phone company uses the same physical wires they use to carry traditional telephone voice calls. ISDN telephone lines can carry digital data at higher speeds than traditional phone lines. They can be used to carry compressed video signals for videoconferencing.

ISDN video is similar to traditional voice phone service in that it is a "switched" service with phone numbers assigned. When ISDN lines are connected to your videoconferencing equipment, this number becomes your video phone number. When you use your videoconferencing equipment to call someone else’s ISDN video number, your ISDN "call" is routed to the phone company’s central office where it is "switched" to the location that you have called based on area code and exchange number. (There is no dial tone and ringing in the traditional sense.)

MAHEC pays the monthly charge for ISDN service from BellSouth. Currently this charge is $300 per month. In addition to this monthly service charge, long distance charges apply each time a long distance video call is placed.

As with traditional long distance phone calls, the person initiating the ISDN video call incurs the charge on the phone bill received from the long distance carrier (AT&T or Sprint, for example). If you request an ISDN connection, MAHEC’s Center for e-Learning and Telehealth will work with you in the planning stage to provide an estimate of the long distance charges. We have found that in-state long distance charges average approximately $0.85 per minute. Out-of-state charges vary greatly depending on exact location. You will be invoiced by MAHEC for the long distance charges once the videoconference is completed. MAHEC absorbs the cost of the monthly charge for the service so each individual hospital does not have to pay the ongoing monthly charge for ISDN service.

MAHEC has subscribed to ISDN service at the WNC HealthLink video multipoint hub located at MAHEC in Asheville. Since your site is linked to the MAHEC hub, you can use MAHEC’s ISDN lines to establish a videoconference connection with compatible sites anywhere in North Carolina and the nation. (It is technically possible to connect anywhere in the world.) The sites you wish to connect with must have compatible equipment and must subscribe to the same type of ISDN service. Since the advent of international videoconferencing standards, it is rare today to encounter incompatible equipment (unless a site is still using a system it purchased more than five years ago).

MAHEC pays the monthly charge for ISDN service from BellSouth. Currently this charge is $300 per month. In addition to this monthly service charge, long distance charges apply each time a long distance video call is placed.

As with traditional long distance phone calls, the person initiating the ISDN video call incurs the charge on the phone bill received from the long distance carrier (AT&T or Sprint, for example). If you request an ISDN connection, MAHEC Telehealth will work with you in the planning stage to provide an estimate of the long distance charges. We have found that in-state long distance charges average approximately $0.85 per minute. Out-of-state charges vary greatly depending on exact location. You will be invoiced by MAHEC for the long distance charges once the videoconference is completed. MAHEC absorbs the cost of the monthly charge for the service so each individual hospital does not have to pay the ongoing monthly charge for ISDN service.