FYI: CoREN

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

------ Forwarded Message
Here is a press release from CICnet:

CoREN SELECTS MCI TO JOIN FORCES ON NATIONAL INFORMATION
INFRASTRUCTURE INITIATIVES

Washington, D.C. and Ann Arbor, Michigan, June 1, 1993. - CoREN, the
Corporation for Regional and Enterprise Networking, and MCI Communications
Corporation (MCI) announced today that CoREN has selected MCI to put in place
key infrastructure to support the delivery of advanced networked computing and
information services as well as advanced inter-regional connectivity to
support the National Information Infrastructure.  Under the proposed
agreement, MCI will provide to CoREN and its constituents a comprehensive set
of voice, data, and video services, including MCI Vnet and MCI 800 services as
well as Virtual Private Data Services such as MCI's HyperStream Frame Relay,
SMDS and, ultimately, ATM services.  The MCI offerings will support and
augment a full range of TCP/IP and other value-added networking services that
CoREN will continue to provide in support of commercial, research and
educational attachments to the Internet.  The revenue potential to MCI for the
activities included under the agreement exceeds of $200 million over the five
year term of the agreement.

CoREN is a newly formed organization founded by eight regional
networks (BARRNet, CICNet, MIDnet, NEARnet, NorthWestNet, NYSERNet, SURAnet,
and WestNet), to provide nationwide TCP/IP data networking services, including
connections to the Internet and to the NSFNet national backbone, to the
business, higher education and research communities.  The proposed MCI/CoREN
agreement will promote expanded access to the Internet, supporting the growing
needs of commerce and industry as well as assembling resources necessary to
lay the foundation for the National Research and Education Network (NREN)
program.

"This significant cooperative undertaking creates strategic
synergies that will enable CoREN and MCI to expand the availability
of cost-effective, leading edge telecommunications solutions to
Internet users," said Jerry Edgerton, MCI's vice president of
government systems.  "The agreement will call for CoREN to migrate
to the ATM-based network resources that MCI will deploy in the
future.  Edgerton also said, "This agreement will provide a
foundation for enhancement of key infrastructure to support the
National Information Superhighway initiatives.  This award
underscores MCI's continuing commitment to advancing networking
technology and identifying innovative means for maximizing access
to those advances in the marketplace."

Dr. Eric Hood, Executive Director of NorthWestNet and a member of
the CoREN Board said: "The future growth and economic stability of
the Internet will depend upon the success of partnerships between
the telecommunications industry and Internet service suppliers.
CoREN and MCI will work together to guarantee consistently high
levels of service quality on a national scale, building upon and
expanding the existing regional networking infrastructure which has
so successfully delivered Internet service over the last 5 years of
exponential growth."

"It is our intent to create the largest, most comprehensive, and
highest quality Internet and value added services provider in the
world today," said Dr. E. Michael Staman, Interim CoREN President
and President of CICNet, "and we believe that the activities
encompassed under the MCI/CoREN agreement are an ideal platform
upon which to construct and offer such services."

CoREN, bringing together the capabilities of BARRNet, CICNet,
MIDnet, NEARnet, NorthWestNet, NYSERNet, SURAnet, and WestNet,
currently delivers networking services in nearly every state of the
nation, supporting TCP/IP connectivity to over 2000 sites through
more than 1050 service delivery points at speeds up to 45 megabits
per second.

MCI Communications Corporation, headquartered in Washington, D.C.,
offers a full range of domestic and global telecommunications
services.  The company, with 1992 revenues of more than $10
billion, is the second largest long distance provider in the U.S.
and has more than 60 overseas office in 55 countries and places.


For additional information, contact:

Dr. Henry Schaffer              Dr. E. Michael Staman
schaffer () sura net               staman () cic net
(919) 515-4466                  (313) 998-6103

<Return> for more, (Q)uit:
Mr. David Thompson
0003514430 () mcimail com
(202) 887-2223