The Indiana General Assembly signed the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications Act into law on March 11, 1967. The act allowed the trustees of Ball State University, Indiana State University, Indiana University, and Purdue University to arrange a statewide telecommunications system to connect university campuses and share educational resources through technology. More universities would be added to this list, including Vincennes University, Indiana Vocational Technical College (now Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana), the Independent Colleges of Indiana, and the University of Southern Indiana. In 1971, the Board of Trustees of the initial four state universities created the State Universities' Telecommunication Coordinating Council (SUTCC) to administer and supervise the system which arose from the act, known as the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications Service (IHETS).

IHETS was a consortium whose members included all higher education institutions in the state of Indiana. Each member institution in the consortium had representation on both of IHETS's primary leadership committees: the Integrated Technologies Committee (ITC) and the Indiana Partnership for Statewide Education (IPSE). The ITC guided operating policy and applied research for networking. IPSE was created in 1992 by the IHETS Board of Directors to encourage collaboration of programs and services. It focused on program delivery and the facilitation of eLearning courses.

IHETS's mission was to "advance the education, research and public service activities of its member institutions and affiliates by offering and coordinating technology and e-learning services." ("IHETS and Its Mission") IHETS offered televised classes through IHETS TV, a campus telephone network called SUVON, and a telephone conferencing service known as ICON. In the early 1990s, IHETS began operating a statewide data network for Internet access called INDnet. The data network evolved to provide two-way video classes and support community learning centers.

In July 1994, IHETS and IPSE developed the Indiana College Network (ICN). It's mission was "to be a learner-centered electronic-learning collaboration that provides partner institutions with innovative means to meet lifelong learning needs of Indiana citizens." ("About ICN") Partner institutions included K-12 schools, public libraries, public broadcasting stations, and other information and education providers. ICN was created to collect and distribute information on distance learning to students and coordinators of student services. ICN provided course and degree information through a print catalog and online database, answered questions via telephone hotline, and furnished explanations of distance and higher education procedures. Eventually, ICN also incorporated an online route for students to request enrollment.

In the early 2000s, IHETS also operated and maintained the Indiana Telecommunication Network (ITN). ITN encompassed the statewide voice, video, and data network which was created and managed under the guidance of Indiana's Intelenet Commission. By this time, the IHETS Satellite Television Network included four channels with over 350 receiving locations both in the state and around the nation. ICN had developed 70 campus and community Learning Centers offering technology access and student support. It also linked over 1,400 credit courses and over 100 degree and certificate programs via distance learning and had become one of the ten largest virtual universities in the country.