Large amounts of money can be wasted and serious disillusionment with the potential of distance education can set in when agencies decide to install extensive and expensive telecommunications systems before they conduct adequate planning. The State of Alaska spent $30 million to purchase and install the equipment for the Learn Alaska Network, a system designed to enhance educational opportunities from the elementary to the postsecondary level for 30,000 Native Alaskans living in remote areas. Only a little more than $200,000 per year was allocated to programing, however, despite evidence from experiences in Great Britain, Canada, and other parts of the United States that such levels of support were completely inadequate. If Alaska had followed an appropriate planning model, the costs of the program would have been recognized as too high relative to the benefits, and the original investment would not have been made. Such planning models involve asking such questions as who the clients are, what problems they face, what kinds of programs can help them, who can develop the programs, what delivery systems are available, what geographic factors affect delivery, what costs and support are involved, how long the project will take, and what contingencies to consider. (PGD)