The Quilt will be in Denver this week along with many of the world’s top advanced technology leaders from universities, industry and research organizations.

First on our plate, we will be meeting with providers selected for our second round of Commodity Internet RFP Semi-Finalist Presentations on April 3 and April 4.  We are grateful to the technical review team comprised of Quilt member volunteers who contribute their expertise and time to this effort.  Now in its eighth RFP cycle under the program, Quilt members and their Authorized Quilt Buyers have made cumulative purchases of 335 Gbps of internet access through our program’s Authorized Quilt Providers as of December 2013.   Since its inception, we estimate the program has saved its Authorized Quilt Buyers $78 million. Our current Authorized Quilt Buyers list includes more than 250 member institutions along with our 34 member organizations. Out of this current RFP effort, The Quilt will select Authorized Quilt Providers for its CIS program

Then, starting on Sunday, we are excited to participate in Internet2’s Global Summit.

Quilt President and CEO Jen Leasure will join James Deaton of OneNet, George Laskaris of NJEDge.Net, and Gil Gonzales of the University of New Mexico and Albuquerque GigaPoP in a lively discussion on Regional Research and Education Networks – Partners in Innovation. This session is Tuesday, April 8 from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Our country’s regional networking organizations are at the forefront delivering advanced network capabilities and a broad set of shared services offerings and applications that leverage an innovative network infrastructure to a diverse set of member communities. Hosted by The Quilt, this panel of regional network leaders will share key insights and experiences in deploying network capabilities such as those within the Innovation Platform Program and progress in providing a wide-range of value-add shared services and applications to member institutions.

Panelists also will share progress on partnering with InCommon to develop a secure trust framework through which the advantages of shared services can be realized by the K-12 schools and community colleges. Panelist presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion, including Q&A.

We look forward to seeing many of our members this week in Denver.