HIE Library Archive 2000  

The 'Abilene Project' is part of the high speed advanced network of research and education establishments in the USA.  It forms the backbone of the 'Internet 2' project.

Internet 2 will have profound implications for all Internet applications world-wide.  Connecting the research and academic communities, the Abilene project establishes advanced networking infrastructure between more than 60 universities in the USA by the end of the year.   When fully deployed, it is hoped that the network will provide connectivity to over 130 universities and research establishments.

The project has already deployed over 5,500 miles of advanced fibre optic circuits that will run at speeds of up to 2.4 gigabits per second.

Started in April 1998, the Abilene Project is led by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), working in collaboration with Qwest Communications, Cisco Systems, Nortel Networks and Indiana University.  A primary goal of Abilene is to support the efforts of the Internet2 project

The Internet2 project is being led by over 130 leading US universities working with industry and government to enable and facilitate the advanced network applications necessary to meet emerging needs in higher education. Internet2 participants are developing the broadband applications, engineering and network management tools for research and education. For more information on Internet2, a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID).