NZ universities on way to Internet 2

By RICHARD WOOD

New Zealand's Next Generation Internet (NGI) consortium has installed the first "node" that will give the country's universities and research institutes an Internet 2 advanced research and development network and connect it to networks worldwide.

The organisation has also laid down the gauntlet to telecommunications firms to come to the party. Internet 2 technology provides connectivity at 2.5Gbps and is being taken up by academia and research organisations globally. By contrast, the high-speed Jetstream offering from Telecom using ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology provides up to 1.5Mbps.

The NGI consortium comprises 13 organisations so far, including eight universities, AgResearch, the National Library, Natural History NZ, InternetN, and the Wellington broadband network provider Citylink. It costs $15,000 to join.

Consortium chairman Neil James said a fulltime chief executive would be appointed by Christmas, an incorporated body formed early next year and the network connecting the major cities would be built by next September.

James said the ball was in the telcos' court to get involved.

"We are open but we believe if we are forced into it we will find a way to build the network without their co-operation."

Consortium technical adviser Roger De Salis, managing director of the voice over internet protocol (VoIP) firm FX Networks, said local telecommunication firms had adopted a "wait and see" approach and this first step was a message to them to "sharpen their pencils".

"We'd like their help, but this is going to happen. We would like the phone companies to provide the bandwidth we require at appropriate prices."

The consortium has installed two Cisco GSR124000 routers at the University of Auckland which will initially be linked through to research-oriented Internet 2 backbones in Sydney and the US. Talks are underway with three global carriers.

University of Auckland network architecture manager Tim Chaffe said many academics already required a higher peak performance than was available, for example in work with 3D immersive environments.

This required a larger "pipe" size than a university could individually justify. "We're trying to get up there with Australia and America. Otherwise New Zealand will be left stranded," he said.

De Salis said New Zealand was late in the Internet 2 game because of a lack of Government involvement.

The NGI consortium was seeking a private/public sector partnership to provide funding and aimed to make the network available for use by commercial organisations as well due to the size of New Zealand and way research was done here.

"This leads to the idea of a virtual science park throughout New Zealand where peer companies can talk to universities for that reason," said De Salis.

Firms such as Weta Digital such as Weta Digital with high bandwidth would be companies of interest.

De Salis said the network would not provide competition to existing telcos in the near term because it was focused on universities, research and science park activities. James said that while commercial users would be allowed, they would likely face the cost of joining the consortium and there might be limitations on whom could join.

De Salis said the plan also complemented the Government's rural Probe project by providing a high-speed backbone which would mostly use fibre optic cable.