The first pieces of Internet2, the high-sped network designed to service the US education community, were plugged together this week as high-speed hubs at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and Georgia Tech, near Atlanta were connected. The gigapops, as they are known, operate at 45 Mbps DS3 45. The North Carolina gigapop connects the research triangle technology center, Duke University, North Carolina State university and the university of North Carolina-Chapel Hill operating at peak speeds of OC-48, 2.4 Gbps. The Georgia gigapop will serve the whole of the south-east. The DS3 links will be upgraded to 155 Mbps OC-3c after several months of testing.
