Network Seeks Growth Despite Tight University Budgets

Although universities have had to trim their budgets, and information technology has not been immune from the cuts, a broadband network that links institutions in more than a dozen northern states could actually grow, according to an Associated Press report.

The Northern Tier Network serves universities in Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Bonnie Neas, North Dakota State University’s vice president for information technology, told that state’s legislature this week that the system could get money from a $97-million federal grant being pursued by two nonprofit networking groups, Internet2 and National LambdaRail.

That could increase the network’s capacity tenfold, according to the report, as well as cut costs to the universities and states behind it.