The Connecticut State Legislature enacted telecommunications legislation on July 1, 1994 that will, among other things, enhance distance education in the state. The legislation requires that the state's regulatory utility agency, the Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) begin dismantling the monopolistic configuration of the existing local exchange network and the individualized components of various subscriber services. Remote educational opportunities in both the cable television and telecommunications technologies are enhanced through the elimination of prior restrictions on two-way cable transmissions, allowing expansion for educational programming purposes. On July 1, 1995, the state adopted a bill that will establish a communications grant program for all public schools and libraries, and established the Connecticut Library Network, a networked expansion of the State Library's existing state-wide database. The following are offered as examples of the state's initiatives in distance education: Telecommunications Incentive Grant (TIG) funding by the Southern New England Telephone Company (SNET), Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES), SNET's electronic information network, I-SNET, and classroom reconfigurations. Additional legislation established a committee on shared information technology and an educational grant program dedicated to funding projects tied to Connecticut's electronic superhighway, and approved a proposal for a distance learning pilot program and educational information highway which would link 14 New Haven area towns to an interactive video network to be shared among 15 school districts. The influence of telecommunications legislation on remote education and jobs, urban versus rural learning, and multimedia teleconferencing is discussed. Connecticut's communications network infrastructure, always lagging behind the concomitant regulatory and legislative framework, is beginning to develop the broadband capabilities necessary for distance learning, and ultimately will be capable of supporting multiple types of data use and transfer. Five tables illustrate data. (Contains 56 references.) (MAS)