11.3.1 Next-Generation Internet (NGI) Overview

A multi-agency federal research and development program, the NGI (Next-Generation Internet) initiative promotes experimentation with next-generation networking technologies and development of next-generation network testbeds to connect universities and federal research centers throughout the United States at high-speed rates. NGI information grids interconnect high-performance supercomputers for enabling complex computations and simulations and advanced data analyses. In addition, the NGI supports testbed implementations to evaluate the performance of advanced telecommunications technologies and assess the capabilities of next-generation digital libraries, E-commerce and E-government services, and the viability of telemedicine and teleeducation programs.

Sponsored by the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute, the NGI Multimedia Applications and Architecture (NMAA) initiative examines procedures for integrating HDTV and Internet technologies and sponsors trials benchmarking Internet capabilities in carrying compressed and uncompressed HDTV via Internet2 and the SuperNet testbed. Strategies for creating a digital amphitheater that enables a thousand individuals to share a virtual learning experience are also explored.

As with Internet2, NGI trials facilitate evaluation of next-generation digital libraries, E-commerce services, and E-government applications, and support development of new generations of network security mechanisms and advanced tools for creating shared research and educational virtual environments. Internet2 and NGI also support deployment of a National Tele-Immersion Initiative (NTII) that facilitates interactions between participants and between participants and computer-generation models through the integration of networking and media technologies in distributed and fully immersive telecollaborative environments.

11.3.2 NGI Participants

The U.S. Departments of Energy, Commerce, and Defense and the...