IP: INTERNET II GETS THE GREEN LIGHT (Edupage)

[Dave Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

[ You may be interested in my memo on this -- Internet II -- a set of
questions -- see


http://macpond.cis.upenn.edu/internetii.htm


Visit the rest of the site at http://macpond.cis.upenn.edu if you have time


Dave
]


Computing officials at 34 research universities have agreed to work together
to build Internet II, a nationwide computing network that will operate at
speeds several times faster than today's Internet.  The universities have
pledged to create a new organization, financed by membership fees, which
will help to fund the effort.  Partners in the effort will include computer
and telecommunications companies, in addition to the higher education
community. The new network will be used only for communications between the
campuses that choose to participate -- all messages heading toward other
locations will still use the Internet.  Educom VP Mike Roberts notes that
the plan calls for involving as many corporate partners as possible:  "The
challenge here is not to invent it, but to integrate it."  He adds that
Internet II would solve the current "chicken-and-egg" problem, where the
telecommunications companies are reluctant to invest in the next generation
of network technology until there is a critical mass of potential users.
(Chronicle of Higher Education 11 Oct 96 A29)