Fast Track for Science Data

November 17, 2003 | Source: Wired News

The first leg of National LambdaRail, the biggest, fastest network ever undertaken for scientific research, will go live this week.

The NLR is being created from 10,000 miles of unused, or “dark,” optic cable on the country’s backbone network. The project plans to use about 40 channels, each capable of transmitting 10 gigabits a second.

The NLR will also enable “extreme multimedia,” such as “real telepresence” or the ability to videoconference at HDTV quality.