Penn plans development of Internet's latest incarnation

Internet2, the high speed, low congestion network in use at Penn, will soon be more readily available to regional schools and research institutes. The University has selected Yipes Communications Inc., a San Francisco-based optical networking company, to create a local loop, utilizing the latest in fiber optic and ethernet technologies, to extend Internet2 to area school districts, research hospitals and other colleges. Regional access points to Internet2, known as GigaPoPs, are located at various locations around the nation. As it was one of the first subscribers to Internet2 in the area, Penn became the overseer for the Mid-Atlantic GigaPoP in Philadelphia for Internet2, or MAGPI. "The very purpose of the alliance is to bring benefit to the MAGPI user -- those benefits are scalability, affordability, and redundancy," MAGPI Director Greg Palmer said. "The potential subscriber base for MAGPI is any research or educational institution in the Delaware Valley." Yipes has announced that, in addition to Penn, the University of Maryland and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts have partnered with the company to assist in providing access in their areas. The Yipes fiber optic network will provide one billion bit-per-second access to Internet2, whose backbone runs at speeds up to 20,000 times faster than a typical modem. Currently, Internet2 is used in research such as Penn's Tele-Immersion Initiative, which is exploring three-dimensional video conferencing. Additionally, the regional loop will allow customers to communicate directly through the Yipes network. Currently, Internet2 is being utilized at 180 locations nation wide. According to Palmer, MAGPI is negotiating with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Temple University, Fox Chase Cancer Center and a number of local school districts concerning access to Internet2, for which regional customers will pay a fee. Yipes obtains its high speeds at low cost with a combination of specialized fiber optic cables and ethernet technology.