GSAMS is the acronym for the Georgia Statewide Academic and Medical System, an H.320 videoconferencing network covering the state of Georgia. It provides educational and research conferencing facilities and services through hospitals, universities, and school systems.
Begun in 1992 with the Distance Learning and Telecommunications Act, GSAMS has grown to around 400 sites as of 2002.
A majority of the installed systems are CODEC-based CLI Rembrandt and Gallery units, although new site systems can be selected from a pool of four other solutions. The network is provisioned in a T1-based topology at a bit-rate of 768kbps for distance learning and 1.5Mbs for medical uses. Currently, new network options are being researched to improve service and cost.
Distance learning over the network includes medical instruction, University courses (including some delivered to the crew of the USS Carl Vinson), and international educational partnerships (GSAMS has been used, for example, to link with a classroom in Russia for the Eco-Connections environmental education project).