IP: Gore to unveil Internet2 for universities - April 13, 1998

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

Gore to unveil Internet2 for universities










Public could benefit from new technology


April 13, 1998=20
Web posted at: 9:06 p.m. EDT (0106 GMT)=20


WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- A super-fast computer network connecting U.S.
universities that could lead to a much speedier Internet will be unveiled by
Vice President Al Gore Tuesday, according to people familiar with the
project.=20


Dubbed Internet2, the new computer network will be funded with $500 million=
 of
private investment.=20


Internet2 will not be available immediately to the public, but technology=
 and
applications developed on the university system are expected eventually to
help
speed up the global Internet.=20


That would allow a host of new uses for the Internet, which has bogged down
amid tremendous growth and limited transmission capacity. With faster and=
 more
reliable speed, the network could be used to transmit live sound and=
 pictures
allowing, for example, doctors to consult on operations performed thousands=
 of
miles away.=20




Trickle-down effect


The Internet2 project, started in 1996, includes more than 100 universities
and
a host of private sponsors such as Cisco Systems, 3Com and MCI
Communications.=20


The project is closely related to the Clinton administration's Next=
 Generation
Internet initiative. In his 1997 State of the Union address, President=
 Clinton
pledged to build a new Internet 100 to 1,000 times faster than the current
network.=20


While the Internet2 project is using university and private sector funds to
build a super-fast network, the next generation initiative is using=
 government
money to fund basic research about using the faster network. Clinton asked
Congress for $110 million for the next generation initiative in his fiscal
1999
budget. =20
Gore=20
=A0


Both projects are intended to develop new technologies that will trickle=
 down
to the global Internet as well as private computer networks.=20


"We think this is the cutting edge that's going to define how our products
shape next generation networks," said 3Com's director of global education
markets, David Katz. "What happens here will be happening in other=
 industries
in a very short period of time."=20


Katz said 3Com awarded grants to 10 universities in the Internet2 group for
advanced networking research.=20




No comment from officials


Last month, the government awarded grants to 23 members of the Internet2
group,
ranging from Columbia University in New York to the University of Wyoming,=
 to
connect to the national Science Foundation's "very high speed Backbone=
 Network
Service" or vBNS.=20


The vBNS can theoretically transfer data at a rate of 622 million bits per
second, compared to a home modem's speed of just 28,800 bits per second. The
network is expected to be upgraded to 2.4 billion bits per second=
 eventually.=20


Greg Wood, a spokesman for the Internet2 project, declined to comment on
Tuesday's announcement.=20


Gore's office said in a statement the vice president would "announce a major
technology initiative."=20


Copyright 1998 </interactive_legal.htm#Reuters>Reuters Limited. All rights
reserved.=20