Those who think the Internet is too slow will be happy to learn that Dartmouth is getting a new one.
In November Dartmouth became a charter member of Internet Two, a collaborative effort among 76 universities, federal research and development agencies and private firms to develop a new Internet for research and education.
Director of Computing Larry Levine said the new Internet will be many times faster than the existing Internet and will be dedicated solely to educational purposes.
"The Internet today is very overloaded. There is a huge amount of commodity traffic," Levine said. "Even at its best, the Internet is too slow for scholarly work."
Levine said Internet Two will allow users to download large amounts of data and will correct the "choppiness" of digital video that exists on the current Internet.
Computing Services Systems Administrator Stephen Campbell said both students and faculty will benefit from the new Internet.
"It will make it possible for Dartmouth faculty to engage in research and teaching projects that require a quality of Internet service not currently available," Campbell said.
"The College is also interested because Dartmouth has a tradition of computer networking." he said.
Levine said he hopes the College will have established a connection to the new Internet within two years.
"This is something Dartmouth must do," he said. "The timing is right to pursue it. The situation with the existing Internet is getting worse, not better."
"Anybody that is fulfilling an educational mission" will qualify to connect to Internet Two, Levine said.
Internet Two's mission statement is to "facilitate and coordinate the development, deployment, operation and technology transfer of advanced, network-based applications and network services to further U.S. leadership in research and higher education and accelerate the availability of new services and applications on the Internet," according to the project web site.
The high speed and quality of services the new Internet will provide do not come without expense.
According to the project web site, it is estimated that colleges' expenses for the project may reach $500,000 per year, and an additional commitment of up to $25,000 per year is required to cover administrative expenses.
Levine said he expects the new network services will become less expensive over time.
"It's all still in the planning stages. Everything is slowly happening," Levine said. "As schools find the funding, they will be able to connect."
Internet Two already exists in a "thin sort of way" through a "very-high-speed backbone network service" separate from the current Internet, he said.
The key element which allows the new Internet to work is the "gigapop," named for "gigabit capacity point of presence" -- a high-capacity, state-of-the-art interconnection point where Internet users can exchange information with other users, according to the project web site.
Campuses in the same geographic area will connect with each other to receive network services at the gigapop.
Each college campus will install a high-speed circuit to its selected gigapop through which it will access the existing Internet and Internet Two, according to the project web site.
Levine said the College will need high-speed fiber-optic cables to connect to the gigapop in Boston. The project will be conducted in phases over the next three to five years, with projected initial participation from 100 universities, federal agencies and many computer and telecommunications organizations.
In the first phase of the project, network services will be accessed by participating universities.
By joining the project, Dartmouth has to create a team to support the development of the project, establish a connection to the new Internet as soon as possible, participate in the management of the project and contribute financial support.
"We're as involved as everyone else in research and finding external funding," Levine said. "We formed a group of faculty to talk about their needs and what work the new Internet would enable them to do including research and teaching applications."
Campbell, Levine and Director of Technical Services Punch Taylor will represent Dartmouth at an Internet Two Project member meeting at the end of January in San Francisco. The project's web site is at http ://www.internet2.edu.
