MCNC, the private, not-for-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), today announced that East Carolina University has received a 10gig upgrade to network services and now serves as the main network hub for most community anchor institutions in North Carolina east of I-95.
The upgrade was completed through the Golden LEAF Rural Broadband Initiative, a $144 million expansion of NCREN, which serves the Intranet and Internet network needs of more than 350 of the state’s leading community anchor institutions including all K-12 public schools, community colleges, UNC System institutions, libraries, select private colleges and universities, non-profit hospitals, public health and public safety institutions.
This historic project for North Carolina is funded through the federal Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) in addition to several private grants and investments including $24 million from the Golden LEAF Foundation and $8 million from the MCNC Endowment. The MCNC Endowment was created to support the long term capital and equipment needs of NCREN.
ECU Director of IT Infrastructure Tom Lamb said the upgrade provides essential bandwidth and broadband capacity to service the school’s online and distance learning programs, videoconferencing, economic development and other essential services. At the same time, he said, it serves as a high-speed gateway for innovation throughout all of North Carolina’s coastal areas. ECU now serves as a main network hub for community anchor institutions in this region of the state.
“ECU continues to be a statewide leader in distance education programs, and these enhancements at ECU will benefit the school as well as the entire region,” Lamb said. “Other universities, colleges, libraries, and government agencies throughout Eastern North Carolina will see a better exchange of information with each other and the rest of the world. In turn, other parts of the state will gain access to the valuable expertise and resources available at ECU and nearby.”
MCNC, the non-profit operator of NCREN based in Research Triangle Park, announced the ECU upgrade as a component of phase one of the two-part GLRBI to enhance and expand broadband capacity in underserved areas of the state. MCNC is near completion of the first phase; phase two construction began in July. MCNC will use the new fiber from both phases of the project to expand the capacity of NCREN to serve as the backbone Intranet and Internet network for community institutions throughout North Carolina.
“Many rural areas in Eastern North Carolina have been left behind in the race to build out critical broadband infrastructure,” said Tommy Jacobson, vice president of Network Initiatives for MCNC and project lead on the initiative. “The new upgrade will provide nearly unlimited capacity for this region through the ECU campus node.”
All construction for both phases of the initiative must be finished by Jan. 31, 2013 to allow MCNC time to equip and place the fiber optic into service on or before July 31, 2013. As with the new ECU connection, when sections of the newly-constructed network are complete, they will be placed into service.
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