First 10 Gigabit Connection from US to Europe Dedicated to Research and Education

HDTV and other high bandwidth applications supported

Amsterdam, Netherlands - September 19, 2002 - The first long-term, trans-Atlantic 10 gigabit per second wavelength circuit dedicated to research and education, provided by Tyco Telecommunications to the Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF), and provisioned from the US to Europe through the efforts of Internet2 and SURFnet, will be inaugurated at iGrid2002 with a demonstration of uncompressed HDTV over IP sponsored by the Pacific Northwest Gigapop and the Research Channel.

The connection is provided as part of a long-term commitment by Tyco Telecommunications to the research networking community through an agreement with the non-profit organization IEEAF. Internet2, the consortium led by US universities focused on accelerating the development of the Internet, and SURFnet, the Dutch national research network and hosts of iGrid2002, have put the 10 gigabit per second circuit into operation between their networks in New York and Amsterdam.

The trans-Atlantic connection was established in time to support iGrid2002, the biennial International Grid applications-driven testbed event being held this week in Amsterdam. iGrid2002 showcases how extreme networks, combined with application advancements and middleware innovations, can advance scientific research. One of many applications showcased, the 1.5 Gbps uncompressed HDTV stream from Seattle to Amsterdam used the new Tyco Telecommunications link.

The 10 Gbps connection is made possible by a five-year commitment by Tyco Telecommunications to the IEEAF, a non profit organization whose mission is to realize the opportunities in the global telecommunications marketplace on behalf of the research and education community. "Our goal is to enable the 'Global Quilt,'" says IEEAF Board Chair Don Riley, VP and CIO, University of Maryland. Tyco Telecommunications has also provided a companion 622 Mbps packet over SONET (POS) circuit to the IEEAF.

Geographic Network Affiliates International (GEO), which has played a pivotal role in the Tyco Telecommunications donation to the IEEAF, will be present at iGrid2002 promoting the Global Medical Research Exchange (GMRE) initiative, a worldwide application that exemplifies the collaborative capabilities of the Grid for high bandwidth utilization of IP for medical purposes.

Contacts:

IEEAF
Don Riley, 301/405-7700
ieeaf-drr@umail.umd.edu

GEO
Don Benton, 203/324-8803 ext. 7909
don.benton@geo-usa.com

Tyco Telecom
Andy Kowalik, 973/656-8331
akowalik@tycotelecom.com

SURFnet
Sandra Passchier, +31 30-2305 305
sandra.passchier@surfnet.nl

Internet2
Greg Wood, 202/331-5360
ghwood@internet2.edu

Project Participants:

Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF)
The Internet Educational Equal Access Foundation (IEEAF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to obtain donations of telecommunications capacity and equipment and make them available for use by the global research and education community. Through partnerships and alliances between government, private sector entities, educational institutions and other non-profit organizations, IEEAF fosters global educational collaboration and equitable access to network resources: the "Global Quilt." IEEAF's member institutions include the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC: represented by California State University at Hayward, California Politechnic University at San Luis Obispo, and University of Southern California), the Pacific Northwest Gigapop (represented by University of Washington), the Pacific Internet2 Coalition (represented by University of Hawaii), the University of Maryland, the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), Indiana University, and Geographic Network Affilites, Inc (GEO). For more information about IEEAF, visit www.ieeaf.org.

Tyco Telecommunications
Tyco Telecommunications (a Tyco Electronics Company), Morristown, New Jersey is one of the world's largest providers of advanced broadband communications solutions. The company is deploying and selling secure city-to-city capacity and colocation and data center services on it's global fiber optic network - TGN. Their portfolio of network services ranges from international city-to-city broadband capacity, to colocation and data center services. They also are the world's only fully integrated supplier of transoceanic optical networks. For more information on Tyco Telecommunications and TGN contact Andy Kowalik at 973-656-8331, or visit the Tyco Telecommunications Web Site at: www.tycotelecom.com. Tyco Electronics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE: TYC; LSE: TYI; BSX: TYC).

SURFnet
SURFnet operates and innovates the Dutch national research network, to which over 150 institutions in higher education and research in the Netherlands are connected. To remain in the lead SURFnet puts in a sustained effort to improve the infrastructure and to develop new applications to give users faster and better access to new Internet services. SURFnet is partner in GigaPort, a project of the Dutch government, trade and industry, educational institutions and research institutes, which aims to give the Netherlands a head start in the development and use of advanced and innovative Internet technology. Within GigaPort the advanced optical infrastructure NetherLight was established, which is used by researchers to investigate novel concepts of optical bandwidth provisioning and to gain experience with these new techniques. For more information, see: www.surfnet.nl/en and www.gigaport.nl.

Internet2
Led by 200 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, Internet2 is developing and deploying advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today's Internet in its infancy. For more information about Internet2, see: www.internet2.edu.

About ResearchChannel
ResearchChannel links a growing global audience to the revolutionary developments, insights and discoveries of leading research and academic institutions through online, on-air and on-demand video distribution formats. Founded as a way to share breakthrough research with the public, the ResearchChannel consortium includes world-renowned universities and research institutions. Video programming ranging from technology and science innovations to fascinating arts and humanities topics is shared in its original form and without interruption.

Pacific Northwest Gigapop
Pacific Northwest Gigapop is the Northwest's Next Generation Internet, Internet2/Abilene applications cooperative, testbed, point of presence, and home to the Pacific Wave International Peering Service. PNWGP and Pacific Wave connect together high-performance international and federal research networks with universities, research organizations, and leading-edge r&d and new-media enterprises throughout Washington, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Canada, Australia, and Japan. For more information, visit www.pnwgp.org.