News for and about the Internet2 community

["Lauren B. Kallens" <>]

FiberCo Facilitates Creation of Advanced Optical Network for Florida

Nine Florida Universities Leverage FiberCo Dark Fiber As Foundation for A
Next-Generation Regional Optical Research and Education Network

ANN ARBOR, MI - OCTOBER 26, 2004 - FiberCo(TM), a fiber holding company
supporting U.S. research and higher education, today announced that Florida
LambdaRail LLC (FLR), a consortium of nine public and private Florida
universities has purchased the rights to 1,540 route miles of dark fiber and
colocation services from FiberCo, under an agreement with Level 3
Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT). Utilizing FiberCo’s national-scale
wholesale pricing structure and streamlined fiber acquisition process, FLR
acquired the dark fiber at a significantly discounted rate and will use the
network facilities to create an advanced optical network that connects
campuses and institutions across the state. 

The network, Florida LambdaRail, once complete, will enable collaboration,
advanced communication, and research among these universities in ways not
possible using existing networks by providing enhanced network performance
and bandwidth capabilities. The new FLR network will also enable consortium
members to have direct connectivity to a wide range of domestic and
international research networks, including Internet2’s Abilene Network and
National LambdaRail, of which the FLR will be a regional connecting network.

The FLR consortium is made up of nine major Florida universities, including
Florida Atlantic University (FAU), Florida Institute of Technology (FIT),
Florida International University (FIU), Florida State University (FSU), Nova
Southeastern University (NSU), University of Central Florida (UCF),
University of Florida (UF), University of Miami (UM), and University of West
Florida (UWF). These top universities recognize the benefits of advanced
networking and its ability to facilitate new and innovative research and
instruction across a broad range of studies and disciplines. 

“High-speed optical networking is a critical tool for achieving
sophisticated learning, research, and collaboration as well as a key
differentiator for recruiting and retaining talented researchers, faculty,
students, and education professionals to the state of Florida,” said Larry
Conrad chairman, FLR, LLC and Florida State University CIO. “The dark fiber
and colocation services acquired through FiberCo serve as a foundation for
the FLR, enabling us to build a regional backbone network for the future.
The network promises to provide our researchers, students and faculty a
test-bed for innovation and we are excited for the possibilities that this
network may help them to achieve. It will essentially eliminate the issue of
‘place’ for collaboration with our colleagues across the country and indeed
around the world.”

Established last year by Internet2(R), a consortium led by 207 universities
working with government and industry to develop and deploy advanced
networking technologies, FiberCo provides a means for acquiring, holding,
and assigning dark fiber assets on both the national and the regional scales
and on behalf of the higher education community. 

"FiberCo’s goal is to assist the Internet2 membership in acquiring critical
optical networking assets to facilitate the development of advanced regional
fiber infrastructure. This fiber assignment represents a key step towards
FLR’s plans to deploy leading-edge optical capabilities throughout Florida
and is our largest placement of fiber with a regional network to date," said
Steve Corbató, director of network initiatives for Internet2. "This highly
collaborative effort by private and public Florida research universities
highlights the leadership of these institutions in providing advanced
Internet technology to their constituents and serves as a model for other
institutions around the country." 

Under the agreement with Level 3 Communications, FiberCo has the ability to
provision both from an initial allocation of more than 2,600 route miles and
from future acquisitions of dark fiber on Level 3’s national footprint. 

About FLR, LLC
Florida LambdaRail, LLC (FLR) is a Florida limited liability company formed
by member higher education institutions to advance optical research and
education networking within Florida. Florida LambdaRail is constructing a
high-bandwidth optical network infrastructure, capable of supporting up to
32 separate high-speed networks, that will link Florida's research
institutions and provide a next-generation network to support large-scale
research, education outreach, public/private partnerships, and Florida's
economic development and high tech plans.  For more information, visit:
www.flrnet.org.

About FiberCo(TM)
FiberCo™ provides a means for acquiring, holding, and assigning fiber optic
network assets in support of the Internet2 community’s goals of developing
and deploying advanced network applications and technologies. FiberCo
facilitates the ongoing development of regional optical networking
initiatives around the country to complement existing Internet2 network
infrastructure while providing a strategic fiber acquisition capability on
the national scale.  For more information, visit: www.fiberco.org.

About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 (Nasdaq:LVLT) is an international communications and information
services company.  The company operates one of the largest Internet
backbones in the world, is one of the largest providers of wholesale dial-up
service to ISPs in North America and is the primary provider of Internet
connectivity for millions of broadband subscribers, through its cable and
DSL partners.  The company offers a wide range of communications services
over its 23,000-mile broadband fiber optic network including Internet
Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services,
collocation services, and patented Softswitch managed modem and voice
services.  Its Web address is www.Level3.com.

Contact:
Lauren Kallens
Internet2




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