UNM joined 29 universities and colleges across the country taking part in Gig.U, a high-speed online infrastructure program designed to create network speeds several hundred times faster than current capabilities permit.
The project’s goal is to attract new technology-driven companies in high-tech industries such as engineering, physics, health care, computer science and mass media to UNM and other participating universities by creating a community fostered by an advanced infrastructure.
“Our invitation to participate came by way of our work to extend regional and local network to the students, faculty and staff in the state of New Mexico — particularly our work in Albuquerque, on the Navajo Nation and Zuni Pueblo” IT spokeswoman Vanessa Baca said.
Baca said the University is working to provide Internet access to reservations across the state as well as improve network capabilities on main campus.
She said the 29 schools have already combined and streamlined their high-speed networks, bringing together their respective campus communities and more rural communities. She said the network chain allows faster access, which they hope will lead to increased research and technological advancements and increased opportunities for economic development and job creation.
“Gig.U universities and their surrounding communities have the most favorable conditions for a market-based, ultra-high speed broadband strategy, including dense populations and high demand from institutions and residential customers,” the press release said.
The Gig.U program hopes to attract private funding to build infrastructure needed by the companies that would benefit from being part of these communities.
According to a New York Times interview with Lev Gonick, chief information officer at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, his university met with success when it offered one-gigabit internet capability to 104 homes in the university’s area. Gonick said three startup technology companies moved to the neighborhood within three months.
The United States launched the computer network age, and was a leader in technology and implementation until the 90s, but is no longer the ruler of the information age, according to a study by the World Economic Forum. The forum found the U.S. ranked fifth behind Sweden, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland in “overall network readiness,” and 30th in bandwidth.
UNM spokesman Gil Gonzales said connecting with other universities is an important first step to compete internationally.
“The University of New Mexico is pleased to collaborate with our national research peers to develop innovative solutions to community network connectivity,” he said. “As New Mexico’s flagship university, UNM is committed to provide leadership in bringing the educational, cultural and economic implications of broadband to our very diverse Native and Hispanic rural populations.”
Gig.U is a work in progress and is still developing the details on how to improve infrastructure, according to the website.
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Other schools participating in the program include Duke, Pennsylvania State, Michigan State and Arizona State.
