All of Arkansas’s four-year public universities will soon be connected to ARE-ON, the high-speed fiber based optical communications network that will expand research, academic, healthcare and emergency preparedness capabilities throughout the state.

ARE-ON (Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network) provides access to national/international high speed infrastructure such as the National LambdaRail, an ultra-fast national Internet infrastructure that will allow researchers to send and receive large files; give classrooms access to ultra high-definition video conferencing and expand opportunities in telemedicine for the state’s healthcare providers, among other benefits.

The high-tech capabilities and potentials of the new system are much more than simply a fast Internet connection, said Mike Abbiatti, executive director of ARE-ON. Technologies such as virtual learning environments, data sharing and multi-media access will be readily available to the campus communities.

With university researchers already fueling investment in the private sector through the development of new products and services, the creation of ARE-ON will only expand economic development opportunities and create additional high-paying jobs in the state. ARE-ON is a supporting and unifying initiative that does not compete with existing resources.

“This is basically a huge economic development initiative for Arkansas,” said Abbiatti, who participated in the founding and the construction of a similar network in Louisiana before coming to Arkansas. “This network will bring Arkansas to a new level in terms of research and technology, giving us opportunities we’ve never seen before.”

ARE-ON will give Arkansas campuses unique access to research and academic resources and allow for sharing among the universities’ current and future supercomputers.

The connection to LambdaRail also brings Arkansas into a national network of other research institutions and universities. The connection will provide more opportunities for collaboration among researchers, academics and healthcare professionals.

After connecting the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus in 2006, ARE-ON officials have been working with the state’s nine other four-year universities, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to complete the network. The full system should be up and running by summer 2009, officials said.

Meanwhile, the universities are preparing themselves to utilize the technology with information technology representatives from each campus coming together to form ARE-ON’s steering committee.

Campuses are connecting to ARE-ON through new and preexisting fiber-optic cables running throughout the state.

ARE-ON member institutions include:

Arkansas State University - Jonesboro
Arkansas Tech University
Henderson State University
Southern Arkansas University
University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
University of Arkansas at Fort Smith
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of Arkansas at Monticello
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff
University of Central Arkansas

For more information on ARE-ON visit www.areon.net.

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