The Corporation for Education Networking Initiatives in California (CENIC) says it has signed an agreement with Level 3 Communications to extend its indefeasible rights of use (IRUs) on Level 3's fiber-optic network through 2040.
CENIC initially signed an IRU agreement with Level 3 in 2002 to provide metropolitan and inter-city dark fiber to the organization, a non-profit corporation founded by California's public and private universities (see "Level 3 providing dark fiber to research and education community in California"). The current IRU agreement will see CENIC lease more than 8,000 miles of dark fiber.
By providing access to Level 3's fiber-optic network to 11,000-member institutions statewide, CENIC says this partnership enables universities, schools, libraries, and other cultural, scientific, and arts organizations to advance their research and education initiatives.
"CENIC has one of the most advanced research and education networks in the world, and serves a vast education community that includes some of the finest research universities anywhere – institutions like the University of California's 10 campuses, Stanford, Caltech, USC, and the Naval Postgraduate School," said David Young, Level 3's Government Markets Group regional vice president. "Our engagement with CENIC informs much of the work we do within the research and education community. The network capabilities that CENIC brings to researchers in California create new breakthroughs in science, medicine and engineering, and Level 3 is honored to be a part of such an important collaboration."
CENIC says this agreement will enable it to continue equipping California with connectivity to institutions and industry research organizations around the world by providing fiber-optic network services.
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