Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) Access and Monitoring Network

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

Montgomery County’s Public, Educational and Governmental (PEG) access channels have long been a force for open government and a key source of local news and opinion – both for and from residents. These cable channels have also been a platform for the public schools and community college to connect with students, parents, and residents. For all its potential, though, the PEG system could only present low-quality analog video, could not be monitored by County personnel to ensure technical quality, and could not simulcast emergency information or live public events. Worse, the PEG channels required studio space for video origination and depended on a cable provider for distribution. The PEG Access Channel Transmission and Monitoring network project is a strategically designed system that gives the County direct control over its PEG video and enables live digital video transmission from locations countywide, including arts centers and public schools. By making PEG production possible at hundreds of remote locations, the project allows citizens to participate in County government events even if they can’t physically attend. And, because the project dovetailed with FiberNet, the County’s existing high-speed backbone communications network, the transmission system achieves this all at an extremely low cost to the County.