ACADEMIA

33 campuses to receive funds to implement major speed boosts

Ohio's new ultra-fast broadband network will have even greater statewide reach as the cities of Portsmouth and Wooster now will join Akron, Athens and Youngstown as hubs for Phase II development of a state-led initiative that will leverage astonishing network speeds of 100 Gigabits per second (Gbps).

Earlier this year, Ohio Governor John Kasich announced that the state would boost its broadband network backbone speeds ten-fold to help advance research and job growth across Ohio's medical research, higher education, manufacturing, engineering and technology networking corridors.

"This is the new gold standard for technology and information sharing, and we want to ensure that the entire state benefits from its potential," Governor Kasich said. "Portsmouth is a gateway to Southeastern Ohio, and Wooster serves as an important agricultural stronghold as home to The Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI). Both cities are natural selections from a geographic and economic standpoint."

The Ohio Controlling Board approved today the $3.1 million state investment in this latest broadband enhancement. As a result, Portsmouth and Wooster now have been added to the Phase II deployment to Akron, Athens, Youngstown, Portsmouth and Wooster, planned for completion by the end of 2012. Phase I of the development will connect Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton and Toledo by September 2012.

The technology expansion "opens the faucet" for innovation and discovery by dramatically increasing the speed of the statewide fiber-optic network operated by the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), a member of the Ohio Board of Regents Ohio Technology Consortium. The 100 Gbps network will connect OARnet to Internet2 through connection points at the northern and southern ends of the state. Internet2, a nationwide advanced networking consortium, spans U.S. and international institutions that are leaders in the worlds of research, academia, industry and government.

Additionally, the state will offer assistance to 33 of Ohio's four-year public and private and two-year community and technical institutions to contract with vendors to upgrade their last-mile connections to the network backbone. These enhancements will provide each campus with substantial speed boosts of up to one Gbps, and will establish a new minimum standard for broadband connectivity for higher education institutions. The faster connections will facilitate the institutions' ability to access the latest technology required to communicate and compete with other higher education institutions across the country and ensure their ability to have the tools needed to train tomorrow's workforce.

"This is an incremental investment that will reap tremendous returns for our state," Governor Kasich said. "Ohio soon will be able to transmit the 'Big Data' that is critical to research and economic growth throughout every corner of our state. Additionally, our higher education institutions also will be on competitive footing with other institutions that are educating and training the next generation of technology leaders."

Full listing of Ohio higher education institutions that will benefit from enhanced connectivity:

• Antioch College
• Belmont Technical College
• Bluffton University
• Capital University Law School
• Clark State Community College
• College of Mount St. Joseph
• Eastern Gateway Community College
• Edison State Community College
• Hebrew Union College
• Heidelberg University
• Hocking College
• Lake Erie College
• Lakeland Community College
• Lourdes University
• Malone University
• Marion Technical College
• Mercy College
• Methodist Theological School
• Muskingum University
• Notre Dame College
• Ohio Aerospace Institute - Dayton
• Ohio Christian University
• Ohio Dominican University
• Ohio Northern University
• Pontifical College Josephinum
• Rhodes State College
• Southern State Community College
• Union Institute and University
• University of Northwestern Ohio
• Urbana University
• Washington State Community College
• Wilmington College
• Zane State College