ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Internet2 today announced that it has established the National Research and Education Fiber Company (Fiberco) to support regional fiber optical networking initiatives dedicated to research and higher education.

Fiberco supports the Internet2 community's goals of developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies, and complements existing Internet2 network infrastructure by providing a means for acquiring, holding, and distributing fiber optic network assets. Fiberco helps Internet2 meet a critical objective by facilitating the ongoing development of regional optical networking initiatives around the country.

The assets allocated by Fiberco are expected to enable testing of a wide variety of highly advanced network applications, including uncompressed high-definition television quality video, remote control of scientific instruments such as mountaintop telescopes and electron microscopes, collaboration using immersive virtual reality, and grid computing.

Fiberco's initial assets include over 2,600 miles of dark fiber acquired from Level 3 Communications, Inc. Questions concerning Fiberco may be directed via e-mail to [email protected].

Internet2