Experts Warn Internet Is Running Out of Bandwidth

My guess is no one ever told you about Internet 2???

Yes, there is another Internet. The term "Internet" simply refers to a network of computers. The one that most of us use is Internet1, or the "commodity Internet." Internet2 was created nearly a decade ago by academics at research universities as a noncommercial prototype—something like what the Internet was back when just a few university researchers were logged on to ARPANET.


Like the commodity Internet, Internet2 comprises servers, routers, switches, and computers that are all connected together. Routers decide which way to send information, and servers handle Web site requests and store information for retrieval. What makes Internet2 so different is that it has many fewer users and much faster connections.

While Internet1 is open to pretty much anyone with a computer, access to Internet2 is limited to a select few, and its backbone is made up entirely of large-capacity fiber-optic cables. Rather than Internet1, which is cobbled together out of old telephone lines, Internet2 was built for speed—the roads are all wide and smooth, like your own private autobahn. Internet2 moves data at 10 gigabits per second and more, compared with the 4 or so megabits you'll get using a cable modem. As a result, Internet2 moves data 100 to 1,000 times faster than the old-fashioned Internet.

More than 200 universities, 70 private companies, 45 government agencies, and 45 international organizations log on to Internet2 every day. Your work computer might be linked to Internet2 already—you can use this Java applet to find out. Internet2 DetectiveThere are no secret Web addresses or special browsers required to log on, no buttons saying, Organizations that want to join up must demonstrate a research-related purpose, pay dues, and meet minimum technical requirements so they don't slow down the rest of the Internet2 empire.
but there is indeed another Internet out there...

reply to post by DaddyBare


A slight misunderstanding there.

"Internet2", as it is known, is merely a brand name for a dedicated, private network that academia and big business can lease access too, exactly like any other telcomms service. There is nothing inherantly special about it, aside from it being fairly exclusive. It uses the exact same technology that any other network would use, it is just ringfenced from any old joe accessing it and slowing it down.

The "old Internet cobbled together from copper wires" "with a max speed of 4Mbs" you mention is not in the slightest an accurate description.

There is nothing called "the internet".

Internet means, literally, interconnected networks. It is made up of many networks which interconnect together at certain locations. It too is made up of "high capacity" fibre, has speeds of 10Gbs (or more depending on the system used) and is equally as fast. The copper bit you allure to is just the last mile, the actually trunk network is fibre and has been for many, many years. Now, many telco's are rolling out local loop fibre as well, so that old bottleneck will soon fade away. Personally, I have a 50Mbs connection from Virgin.

lol

internet2, we're all currently connected to internet2....., haven't you heard about people talking about the future? internet3? where they have everything on the internet in subdirectories.. :< so sad!