Working with the many Nebraska champions of rural health, the telephone industry is a key player in the expansion of telemedicine capabilities in Nebraska. When NIN was originally formed where were already several leading edge efforts underway that provided telemedicine services to various areas of the state. Recent further deployment of telemedicine capabilities has the State of Nebraska in a leading position with the near completion of a statewide Telehealth Network. The statewide network will be connecting 98 hospitals, 17 Public Health Agencies, the University of Nebraska College of Medicine's Bioterrorism Laboratory and 4 rural area laboratories, the State Health and Human Services Agency and other sites.