OARnet and the State of Ohio recently finalized an agreement for OARnet to provide the network backbone for the State and its various agencies. The agreement between OARnet/Ohio Board of Regents and Department of Administrative Services will add nearly 2,300 end-sites to the network for $3.2 million per year.

Aggregating the State of Ohio’s broadband and networking needs to the existing OARnet client base benefits all stakeholders. With the recent 100 Gbps upgrade, there is ample bandwidth to meet everyone’s needs.

The state will streamline its services, which will positively affect various agencies. Meanwhile, OARnet will be able to expand current services with the added operating funds. For example, the Network Operations Center is now staffed 24x7x365.

Together, the State of Ohio, as well as K-12 and Higher Education, will benefit from the increased aggregate purchasing power to reduce Internet rates for all stakeholders in FY2015.

Opportunities in Advanced Computing and Networking

A workshop on Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) opportunities in advanced computing and networking will be held in Chicago onAugust 6th and 7th.  Interested parties and stakeholders in Department of Energy Office of Science Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) SBIR topics related to computing and networking are encouraged to attend.  This 2 day workshop will focus on building and strengthening the ties between the producers and consumers of software and networking tools developed under the auspices of the DOE SBIR program.

Registration / More Details:  https://sites.google.com/a/lbl.gov/sbir/

BOULDER, Colo. – Zayo Group, LLC (“Zayo”), an international provider of Bandwidth Infrastructure, today announced it has been selected as an Authorized Quilt Provider (AQP) of IP services for The Quilt, a national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education.

As an AQP, Zayo can now provide IP services to Quilt members, including 35 regional networks that collectively pass traffic for more than 3,000 colleges, universities, and K-12 educational institutions across the U.S.

Zayo was selected as an AQP through the Quilt’s Commodity Internet Services Program, an initiative focused on providing members with high-bandwidth, reliable network services at a lower cost. To be recognized as an AQP, internet service providers must participate in The Quilt’s RFP process, which requires the submission of national pricing, peering point locations, and fiber network footprint. The Quilt then selects AQPs based on the provider’s ability to accommodate member network requirements at a negotiated member price.

“Zayo’s dense metro fiber presence and extensive Tier-1 network spans 45 U.S. states, allowing us to deliver end-to-end IP solutions with diverse routes and complete control over capacity and quality management,” said Max Clauson, VP of IP Services at Zayo. “As an Authorized Quilt Provider, we look forward to working with the organization’s members to provide the high-bandwidth IP solutions their users require.”

“Zayo’s broad network footprint, ability to provide the significant bandwidth needs of our member networks, and customer support make Zayo a solid service provider for Quilt members,” said Jen Leasure, President and CEO, The Quilt.

For more information on Zayo and its IP services, visit www.zayo.com .

About Zayo Group
Based in Boulder, Colo., Zayo Group provides comprehensive Bandwidth Infrastructure services in over 300 markets throughout the US and Europe. Zayo delivers a full suite of lit services and dark fiber products to wireline and wireless customers, data centers, Internet content providers, high-bandwidth enterprises, and government agencies across its robust 79,000 route mile network. The company also offers 27 carrier-neutral colocation facilities across the US. Please visit  www.zayo.com  for more information about Zayo and its fiber solutions.

About The Quilt
The Quilt is the national coalition of advanced regional networks for research and education, representing 35 networks across the country. Participants in The Quilt provide advanced network services and applications to more than 250 universities and thousands of other educational institutions throughout the United States.