Two states climb aboard new, 100-gigabit fast train

Indiana and Ohio are the first states to take advantage of the next-generation backbone being built out by Internet2 and the Energy Department, linking in-state academic research networks to the 100-gigabits/sec cross-country network.

Indiana in January became the first state to link its research and education network to the backbone with a 100-gigabits/sec link from Indianapolis to Chicago. Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) announced that Ohio would upgrade its Ohio Academic Research Network (OARnet) in a $10.4 million program to link the state’s cities to the backbone. The Internet2 academic research consortium and DOE’s Energy Sciences Network in 2011 completed the first transcontinental links of the high-speed network using coherence modulation technology.

The prototype network is being built with a $62 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and is part of DOE’s Advanced Networking Initiative to develop a next-generation science and research infrastructure. The backbone now stretches nearly 4,000 miles, linking New York, Washington (DC), Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City, Denver, Salt Lake City and Sunnyvale (CA).