Arizona State University and CENIC Establish High Speed Fiber Connection to Support Research and Education

Cypress, CA (September 21, 2005) – The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) announced today the final installation of a fiber connection linking Arizona State University to CENIC's California Research and Education Network (CalREN). Network traffic from Arizona State University will travel across this newly installed fiber connection to reach sites in California via CalREN or to reach sites across the nation and world via one of the 72 networks that have network peering (i.e. traffic sharing) agreements with CENIC.

The new network link brings unprecedented wide area network capacity to Arizona State University’s students, faculty and staff. Arizona State University chose to pursue this connection to provide enhanced access to the nation's high speed research and education networks such as Internet 2 and the National LambdaRail as well as take advantage of the peering opportunities provided by CENIC.

CalREN is the nation's most powerful statewide, education and research-focused network. Serving all educational institutions in California (K-12 on up), CalREN network connections offer educators and researchers the ability to access and use state-of-the art resources throughout the nation and the world. The network enables delivery of advanced curriculum, access to advanced research resources and services regardless of size or location, and provides a flexible growth path for continued high-quality, education-focused network connectivity.

"Arizona State University is pleased to be able to increase networking support for its researchers, faculty, staff, and students. This worthy investment and partnership with CENIC provides ASU with the best tools available to support its work," said William Lewis, ASU's Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost. "The campus is not only accessing the full power of broadband, but is also accessing the global Internet and Internet2 community at large."

The use of a common education network by the education community in multiple western states increases access to a high-speed, high-bandwidth, robust network infrastructure while minimizing costs. Each state benefits from enhanced collaboration among members of the education community and the sharing of new innovations and knowledge.

"This connection is evidence of a mutual appreciation for the benefits and efficiencies that can be created by pooling each state’s resources together to provide the network infrastructure that is so critical to innovation, educational advancement, and economic development. CENIC is pleased to have earned Arizona’s trust as a networking partner, and pledges to continue to demonstrate success in building out advanced network capabilities and enabling the best research and education support structure in the nation," says Jim Dolgonas, President and Chief operating Officer of CENIC.

About CENIC

CENIC is a not-for-profit corporation serving the California Institute of Technology, California State University, Stanford University, University of California, University of Southern California, California Community Colleges and the statewide K-12 school system. CENIC's mission is to facilitate and coordinate the development, deployment and operation of a set of robust multi-tiered advanced network services for this research and education community. More information about CENIC can be found at http://www.cenic.org.

About Arizona State University

Arizona State University is one of the premier metropolitan public research universities in the nation. Enrolling more than 58,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students on three campuses in metropolitan Phoenix, ASU maintains a tradition of academic excellence in core disciplines, and has become an important global center for innovative interdisciplinary teaching and research. For more information on Arizona State University visit http://www.asu.edu.