Internet2 Gets Gigafast-er!
DEWD! We think we have a “hot” connection to the Internet when we have a full 1 megabit line (nearly T1 speeds.) But, imagine a connection that offers 800 Gbps (Yes, that is GIGAbits per second!) Internet2 (which is mostly academic and research institutions already have 10 gigabits per second on average… which is already awesome… but they are getting an upgrade… and WHAT an upgrade! Wow! When can I have it!??!
“The upgrade will use 80 different wavelengths to send the traffic that could make it possible for uncompressed hi-def video and video conferencing, over the net collaboration and even give a massive boost to grid computing. Internet2, a consortium of 201 academic institutions plans to phase out its Abilene network, which has been in service for seven years. The consortium will not renew its fiber contract with Qwest Communications. The Abilene Network used 10,000 route-miles of Qwest’s 10-Gigabit-per-second optical network.”