What could you do with more broadband? Well, Thomson West has a good answer. They are testing a new service that will stream courtroom video to big law firms at speeds thousands of times faster than the Internet can handle.
They hope to test the service late this year or in early 2008 by delivering almost instantaneous courtroom video to attorneys-to-be at the University of Minnesota Law School using the Internet2. The hope is to have a fully functioning product in 3 years.
A recent article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (Thomson, U to connect using speedy Internet2) talked about the project:
Thomson, which has been an advocate of faster Internet access for schools and home users, said Internet2 is an example of the high-speed services Minnesota should try to get for its communities. Thomson recently backed two unsuccessful bills in the Legislature that would have committed Minnesota to achieving that goal.
“Internet2 is a preview of things that will be demanded for the community,” King said. “When we recruit high-tech people, it helps to have a high-tech, connected community for them to live in. So anything we can do to push broadband also drives economic development.”
What I found surprising was that Thomson backed 2 unsuccessful bills in the Legislature. I don’t know if those bills are deemed unsuccessful (or successful) yet. I had been following them during the session and it seemed to me as if they were both tabled for the year but will be picked up again after January.
internet2 is meant to be used for universities and colleges which would be the same as the orion system used by canadian schools .Im not sure how available they would be for public usages because of the security factor they hold as an educational tool
As I recall there are about 13 companies doing research and development on Internet2. (Thomson is the only MN-based company.) I’m sure that the R&D factor helps them plead the case to get onto Internet2. Also, at least with Thomson, there is an educational component in that they are testing it out at the U of M.
I think it could really open the door to the Universities getting involved with tech transfer with more companies to help develop products and services.