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Internet2 - The next step

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A Match the headings to the paragraphs.
1. Internet2 is a collaborative project between universities, government agencies and industry partners in the USA. It aims to create advanced Internet applications for academic research, distance learning and education. The I2 project was developed by the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) in October 1996.
2.

There are three major challenges facing Internet2:

  • to establish an advanced communications infrastructure for the US research and education community
  • to develop new applications, such as digital libraries, telemedicine and virtual laboratories, allowing participants to send big packets of data and video at high speed. For example, teachers and students can view and consult during real-time medical operations, scientists can collaborate in virtual meetings etc
  • to transfer the new network capabilities to all levels of education and to the rest of the Internet.
3. The I2 project is made up of three main categories of members: universities, non-profit organizations and corporate partners, ie sponsors and industries interested in investing in the project.
4. Internet2 is working together with advanced networks such as the high-speed Backbone Network Service developed by MCI/Worldcom, and the Next Generation Internet, which is being built by US federal agencies. It runs on a new fibre-optic backbone called Abilene, which operates at speeds of up to 2.4 gigabits (1,024 megabits) per second. Internet2 uses Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) instead of the current IPv4. This new protocol uses the Quality of Service (QoS) technology, which allows users to send data with guaranteed delivery - on time and intact.
5. Internet 2 and its fast backbones are not available to the general public yet, and its physical structure is not intended to replace the global Internet. But the plan for the future is to integrate the new technology with the public Internet and to make it available to everyone.

 

B Fill in the gaps in these sentences using the passive forms of the verbs in the box.

provide

develop

use

call

send

deliver

  1. The new national backbone Abilene.
  2. The Internet2 project by UCAID in October 1996.
  3. Funds and grants for research by non-profit organizations like the National Science Foundation.
  4. One objective of Internet2 is to develop new technologies that can in the global Internet.
  5. Huge packets of data and video at high speed.
  6. In the future it’s likely that all media (TV, web content, email, etc.) over Internet2.


C Refer to the text to find the term for these definitions.

In paragraph 1 investigation undertaken to discover new facts
In paragraph 2 technology that provides high-quality information to doctors over long distances
In paragraph 4: glass material that guides light impulses at high frequencies
In paragraph 4: high-speed data highways that connect other networks
In paragraph 4: 1,024 megabits
In paragraph 4: specification that describes how computers will talk to each other on a network


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