DATE: Thursday, November 13, 1997           TAG: 9711130524

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NEWPORT NEWS                      LENGTH:   52 lines

AREA COMPUTER NETWORK WINS NATIONAL AWARD

Before 1994, when business and a fledgling medium called ``The Internet'' were mutually exclusive, ``Netizens'' consisted primarily of government workers, students and techno-geeks who regarded the budding worldwide computer network as their own commercial-free, virtual private property.

Electronic mail was the Internet's hands-down ``killer app,'' or greatest application. Businesses that had heard of the so-called ``World Wide Web'' were puzzled about whether to get on it and what to do if they did.

The Southeastern Virginia Regional network, known as SEVAnet, set out to unravel the mystery by establishing a regional electronic community three years ago. For SEVAnet's efforts, the National Association of Management and Technical Assistance Centers recently named SEVAnet ``outstanding'' in the special assistance category of the association's annual competition.

NAMTAC made its selection in part because of SEVAnet's economic impact in Hampton Roads.

SEVAnet created or retained 73 jobs in Hampton Roads through its business model project. About 25 companies participating in the project reported increased sales and cost savings of $2,515,950 during the first six months of the project last year, according to George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis.

``I think the figures are going to be a lot better this year,'' said Bill Winter, chairman of the SEVAnet council. He said that's because companies network with one another through SEVAnet-sponsored forums and discuss what does and doesn't work for them on-line.

Winter said SEVAnet's emphasis isn't getting businesses on-line to ``sell widgets,'' but rather to serve as a research bed in the still-evolving world of electronic commerce.

E-commerce, now estimated at around $8 billion annually, is expected to reach $200 billion by the turn of the century.

SEVAnet, based at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, gets funding from Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, private sponsors, a surcharge on participating businesses and in-kind support from CNU.

Winter said that by January organizers expect to have the Virginia Electronic Commerce Technology Center up and running to expand SEVAnet's Hampton Roads success to a statewide level.

In response to user demand, SEVAnet and VECTEC will work on getting next-generation infrastructure - Internet ``backbone'' cable, routers and the hardware necessary to transmit videoconferences and other big bandwidth applications.

Winter said the investments are imperative if the region and state are to catch up with the rest of the country.

``We are behind, in income per capita, savings account per capita - we're outgunned,'' Winter said.

``We need to use information technology as a catapult.''

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