Gig.U Seeks to Spur FTTH for University Communities

A coalition of 28 leading academic institutions across the U.S. have formed Gig.U: The University Community Next Generation Innovation Project. The goal is to accelerate the offering of ultra high-speed network services to their communities. Organizers said this initiative is needed because current service providers in the United States do not have any plans to offer ultra high-speed services for university communities.

Within the next 90 days. Gig.U expects to issue a Request for Information to current and potential service providers regarding new approaches for launching such networks. Gig.U noted that the Google Fiber Project prompted over 1,100 communities across the United States, including nearly all the University communities involved in Gig.U, to organize themselves to improve the business case for potential suppliers. Gig.U will build on those organizational efforts.

Gig.U is headed by Blair Levin, who currently is a Communications & Society Fellow with the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program. Previously, he served as the Executive Director of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative, where he oversaw the development of a National Broadband Plan. http://www.fcc.gov