Internet2 has released the following statement regarding the official launch of US Ignite by the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.

“Internet2’s and US Ignite’s missions fit well with each other, especially our mutual interest in strengthening the nation’s position as a global leader in research, education and innovation,” said Internet2 CEO and President H. David Lambert. “We value working with US Ignite to share our expertise in software-defined networking, the National Science Foundation’s GENI project, broadband needs of public and community anchor institutions, and advanced applications and services for ultra-fast networks.”

Internet2 plans to leverage its networking and technology expertise as a member of U.S. Ignite, engaging in advisory committees on a range of issues affecting next-generation networks and applications. In addition, US Ignite will become a member of Internet2.

The national high-performance Internet2 Network connects America’s colleges and universities to research and education collaborators worldwide. The newly upgraded 100G-enabled and 8.8 Terabit per second optical network will allow Internet2 member institutions to keep pace with the exponential growth in “Big Data” scientific research being driven by the nation’s collaborative researchers in labs and universities.

The network will also enable advanced networking features for more than 200,000 of the country’s essential community anchor institutions, including libraries, hospitals, K-12 schools, community colleges and public safety organizations as part of Internet2’s United States Unified Community Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) project. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) helped fund Internet2’s network upgrade and U.S. UCAN project.