At a press conference held following the signing ceremony, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Sweilem, vice president of KACST for Research Support, told newsmen on Monday that the agreement would focus on joint research cooperation with direct Web link between the two organizations. "It will be a high speed Internet link in gigabytes, with uninterrupted communication service," Al-Sweilem said, adding that the connection will be totally independent from the existing commercial Internet line.
Internet2 would provide the high-speed international network that would enable researchers and scientists to access various research facilities and universities without having to travel to those places, Al-Sweilem said, adding that it would also reduce the time spent on research.
He said that US-based Company would develop the infrastructure for the new service, which is going to help the Kingdom's researchers and academicians.
Internet2 is the foremost US advanced networking consortium. Led by the research and education community since 1996, it promotes the missions of its members by providing both leading-edge network capabilities and unique partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development, deployment and use of revolutionary Internet technologies.
Internet2 is a not-for-profit advanced networking consortium comprising more than 200 US universities in cooperation with over 45 leading corporations, 60 government agencies, laboratories and other institutions of higher learning, over 30 regional and state research and education networks and more than 100 national research and education networking organizations representing over 50 countries.
