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University Computing Services
National LambdaRail Initiative (NLR)
The following is a copy of email attachment sent on May 6, 2003 to NOLENET, INTERNET2 LIST and CSIT User Exchange from Larry Conrad, Associate Vice President and CIO, Office of Technology Integration, Florida State University. Some of you here at FSU have heard about the National Light Rail (NLR) initiative, AKA Internet3. This is an ambitious plan to form a corporate entity that would acquire rights to fiber-optic assets nationally which would be used to provide dramatically improved connectivity to support research and education. The attached statement announces the official launch of the NLR initiative, which is now being called the National LambdaRail, because the former name was taken. FSU and 7 other institutions in Florida are actively participating in the NLR initiative and will be equity stakeholders in the new entity. The participating FL institutions include: FAU, FIT, FIU, FSU, UCF, UF, U of Miami, and UWF. This commitment will bring a NLR node to Jacksonville--the initial service will provide four 10 Gb networks (or lambdas). We hope to have the NLR operational by the end of the calendar year, although some network segments should be operational before that. Pls see the attached graphic for the NLR network. The initial phase will include San Diego, the west coast to Seattle, to Denver, to Chicago, to Pittsburgh, to D.C. (without the spur to Boston), to Atlanta, and to Jacksonville. The 2nd phase will complete the loop back to San Diego. To take advantage of this new unprecedented level of connectivity, we will need to build-out a comparable state network. The same set of FL institutions are also planning to do this and that companion initiative is being called the Florida LambdaRail (FLR). Our plan for the FLR is to form a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) entity restricted to 501(C)(3) not-for-profit participants and apply for 501(c)(3) status with the IRS ourselves. We are actively working to nail down the governance structure, the alternative designs for building out a high-speed research and education network here in FL (which will connect to the NLR), and establish a 5 year budget for accomplishing this. We have an agreed upon set of deal points (a term sheet) and have begun work on drafting an operating agreement for the corporation. We hope to have FLR operational within a year. Here in Tallahassee, we're also working with a local consortium of educational entities who have shown interest in building out a local fiber loop, which will connect to the FLR. CCLA, FDOE, FAMU, FSU, NWRDC, and TCC have all indicated an interest in exploring the options together. This is a difficult budget year to take on this kind of new initiative, given the present economic realities, but it's also difficult to over-estimate the longer term importance of and benefits from having our own fiber-optic assets to manage and allocate in higher ed. I want to thank FSU's executive management--in particular Drs. Abele and Bye--in quickly grasping the significance and potential of this unique opportunity. This will redefine our ability to collaborate and cooperate; indeed, it will for all intents and purposes eliminate the issue of place or location for faculty, students, and staff and create new opportunities that we could not even imagine doing until now. Pls let me know if you have any questions about any of this. -Larry
Conrad | ||
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