FIRST 10 GIGABIT CONNECTION FROM US TO EUROPE DEDICATED TO RESEARCH AND EDUCATION TO BE INAUGURATED AT iGrid 2002

HDTV and other high bandwidth applications supported
Amsterdam, Netherlands
September 19, 2002

The first long-term, trans-Atlantic 10 gigabit per second wavelength circuit dedicated to research and education, to the Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF), and provisioned from the US to Europe through the efforts of Internet2 and SURFnet, will be inaugurated at iGrid2002 with a demonstration of uncompressed HDTV over IP sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Gigapop and the Research Channel.

The connection is provided as part of a long-term commitment to the research networking community through an agreement with the non-profit organization IEEAF. Internet2, the consortium led by US universities focused on accelerating the development of the Internet, and SURFnet, the Dutch national research network and hosts of iGrid2002, have put the 10 gigabit per second circuit into operation between their networks in New York and Amsterdam.
The trans-Atlantic connection was established in time to support iGrid2002, the biennial International Grid applications-driven testbed event being held this week in Amsterdam. iGrid2002 showcases how extreme networks, combined with application advancements and middleware innovations, can advance scientific research. One of many applications showcased, the 1.5 Gbps uncompressed HDTV stream from Seattle to Amsterdam.

The 10 Gbps connection is made possible by a five-year commitment by to the IEEAF, a non profit organization whose mission is to realize the opportunities in the global telecommunications marketplace on behalf of the research and education community. "Our goal is to enable the 'Global Quilt,'" says IEEAF Board Chair Don Riley, VP and CIO, University of Maryland.

Geographic Network Affiliates International (GEO), which has played a pivotal role in the donation to the IEEAF, will be present at iGrid2002 promoting the Global Medical Research Exchange (GMRE) initiative, a worldwide application that exemplifies the collaborative capabilities of the Grid for high bandwidth utilization of IP for medical purposes.
The Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to obtain donations of telecommunications capacity and equipment and make them available for use by the global research and education community. Through partnerships and alliances between government, private sector entities, educational institutions and other non-profit organizations, IEEAF fosters global educational collaboration and equitable access to network resources: the "Global Quilt." IEEAF’s member institutions include the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC – represented by California State University at Hayward, California Politechnic University at San Luis Obispo, and University of Southern California), the Pacific Northwest Gigapop (represented by University of Washington), the Pacific Internet2 Coalition (represented by University of Hawaii), the University of Maryland, the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), Indiana University, and Geographic Network Affilites, Inc (GEO). For more information about IEEAF, visit www.ieeaf.org.

SURFnet operates and innovates the Dutch national research network, to which over 150 institutions in higher education and research in the Netherlands are connected. To remain in the lead SURFnet puts in a sustained effort to improve the infrastructure and to develop new applications to give users faster and better access to new Internet services. SURFnet is partner in GigaPort, a project of the Dutch government, trade and industry, educational institutions and research institutes, which aims to give the Netherlands a head start in the development and use of advanced and innovative Internet technology. Within GigaPort the advanced optical infrastructure NetherLight was established, which is used by researchers to investigate novel concepts of optical bandwidth provisioning and to gain experience with these new techniques. For more information, see: www.surfnet.nl/en and www.gigaport.nl

Led by 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see: www.internet2.edu

ResearchChannel is a collaborative partnership of research universities and centers dedicated to broadening the access to, and appreciation of, our individual and collective activities, ideas, and opportunities in basic and applied research. ResearchChannel uses content, content creation, and manipulation processes as a workbench to test materials for our future analog and digital broadcast and on-demand multimedia offerings, thus providing an unusual opportunity to experiment with new methods of distribution and interaction on a global basis. ResearchChannel distributes research information 24x7 via satellite, direct-broadcast satellite (EchoStar's DISH Network), cable TV, webcast, on-demand library. For more information, see: www.researchchannel.org.

Pacific Northwest Gigapop is the Northwest's Next Generation Internet, Internet2/Abilene applications cooperative, testbed, point of presence, and home to the Pacific Wave International Peering Service. PNWGP and Pacific Wave connect together high-performance international and federal research networks with universities, research organizations, and leading-edge r&d and new-media enterprises throughout Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Canada, Australia, and Japan. For more information, visit www.pnwgp.org