Level 3 Communications , a Tier 1 backbone and
dark fiber provider, has picked up three major contracts at the
university level, where bandwidth needs for research are apparently on the rise.
The Colorado-based telco, which recently acquired
bankrupt backbone provider Genuity, has signed network services
agreements with the George Washington University, the University of Oregon
and Southern Crossroads.
Under the terms of their respective agreements, The George Washington
University has purchased metropolitan dark fiber services, and the
University of Oregon has contracted for (3)CrossRoads Internet access and
private line services, Level 3 said.
The Southern Crossroads (SoX), a research and education network
aggregator based in Atlanta, said it plans to use private lines and
(3)CrossRoads services to offer Internet access and other broadband
services to the University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University.
Founded in 1997, SoX is designed to facilitate access to current and
future digital communications services for education, research and economic
development within the southeast region and across the United States.
“Driven by grid computing and other evolving applications, we’re seeing
increasing demand for bandwidth in the research and academic community,”
said Robert Hagens, senior vice president of architecture and deployment for
Level 3.
Level 3’s services are built on its 10-gigabit IP backbone that spans 57
North American markets, 16 European markets and is accessible from more than
550 traffic aggregation points.
