News for and about the Internet2 community

[Ryan Bass <>]

U.S. UCAN Project Announces Task Force on Community Anchor Network Economic 
Models

WASHINGTON, DC - February 18, 2011 - The United States Unified Community 
Anchor Network (U.S. UCAN) project today announced the membership of a 
recently formed Task Force on Community Anchor Network Economic Models.

Comprised of representatives from community anchor institution (CAI) sectors 
as well as regional and state research and education (R&E) networks, the Task 
Force is responsible for developing sustainable economic and business models 
for the U.S. UCAN project which will be dedicated to connecting CAIs, 
including public libraries, schools, community colleges, public safety and 
health care institutions with advanced broadband capabilities. Utilizing the 
Internet2 Network together with regional R&E networks and potentially other 
CAI networks, U.S. UCAN will enable these anchor institutions to serve their 
communities with telemedicine, distance learning and other life-changing 
applications not possible with consumer-grade Internet services.

U.S. UCAN executive director Mark Johnson said, "As we begin the process of 
bringing the U.S. UCAN project to fruition, the contributions of these 
individuals to the Task Force and the community will be vital. Developing 
appropriate models for sustaining U.S. UCAN into the future and enabling it 
to work cohesively within local networks that support the CAI ecosystem is a 
critical first step in our efforts.”

Members of the Task Force include: Robert (Bob) Bocher representing the 
American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy 
(ALA/OITP); John Branson, Director of Educational Research Development and 
Technology Services, Chester County, Pennsylvania Intermediate Unit, Chester 
County, Pennsylvania; Marianne Chitwood, Chief Technology Officer, I-light 
Indiana; William (Bill) Clebsch, Associate Vice President for IT Services, 
Stanford University; Ray Ford, Chief Information Officer, University of 
Montana; Joanne Hovis, President, Columbia Telecommunications Corp. (CTC), 
Dave Kirby, Health Care Informatics Consultant; George Laskaris, CEO, NJEdge; 
Tom Rolfes, Education Information Technology Manager, Nebraska Information 
Technology Commission/Network Nebraska; and Denise Atkinson-Shorey, Chief 
Information Officer, Eagle-Net (Colorado).

U.S. UCAN is being established under the auspices of a federal stimulus grant 
to Internet2 from the National Telecommunications and Information 
Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). The 
BTOP grant enables Internet2 to dramatically increase its bandwidth and 
footprint to accommodate the connection of the nation's estimated 200,000 
community anchor institutions, unlocking next-generation Internet-based 
applications for the citizens they serve – that promise to provide a whole 
range of new possibilities—and new economic opportunities.

Mike Roberts, one of the original organizers of Internet2 in the mid-1990's, 
and chair of the Task Force, commented, "I am very pleased to have the 
opportunity to work with such a distinguished group of community leaders on 
this important assignment which we believe will have a great impact on 
communities across the country. "

Dave Lambert, president and CEO of Internet2 stated, "The substantial funding 
provided to regional and national networks through BTOP offers an 
unprecedented opportunity to expand advanced broadband applications to CAIs 
not previously served. The challenge of how to adapt and scale existing and 
new programs to a much broader audience remains a challenge we must now 
address to move this project forward. I am grateful to the Task Force members 
for giving us their assistance at this critical time for the effort."

Internet2 and U.S. UCAN are both operated by the University Corporation for 
Advanced Internet Development.

For more information on U.S. UCAN:  www.usucan.org
For more information on Internet2:  www.internet2.edu

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Contact:
Ryan Bass
Internet2