INDUSTRY

CHICAGO, IL -- A new transatlantic high-performance internet connection today joined the research and education communities in the Netherlands and the U.S. at gigabit speed. The upgraded connection between SURFnet, the advanced research and higher education network in the Netherlands, and Abilene, an Internet2® backbone network serving over 200 universities and research centers in the United States, will enable applications such as TV-quality videoconferencing, MPEG2 video streaming, data mining and remote collaboration between researchers, teachers and students in the US and the Netherlands. The connection was established through StarLight(sm), a National Science Foundation funded project providing a Gigabit Ethernet-based interconnection point for national research networks from around the world. SURFnet and Internet2 have worked together since 1998 to provide connectivity and promote collaboration between the advanced networking initiatives of the U.S. and the Netherlands. “With the introduction of dark fiber in the local loop and Gigabit Ethernet switches as interconnect points, global research networking is entering a new phase,” said Kees Neggers, Managing Director of SURFnet. “This new Gigabit Ethernet connectivity marks an important milestone where connections between the United States and Europe are no longer bottlenecks for researchers using advanced network applications,” said Steve Corbato, Director of Backbone Network Infrastructure for Internet2. The new connection between SURFnet and Abilene will utilize two 622 megabit per second connections SURFnet has acquired between the Netherlands and its new Chicago based Point of Presence. The new Abilene-SURFnet peering marks the first connection of StarLight to the Abilene network via Gigabit Ethernet. For more information visit www.internet2.edu www.surfnet.nl or www.startap.net/starlight/