CENIC Proudly Announces CommerceNet as a New Collaborator.

Business Editors High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001

The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) is forging a strategic relationship with CommerceNet to provide high capacity R&D network access for the State's two new Next Generation Internet (NGI) Applications Centers.

CENIC's CalREN-2 will provide the high capacity access to one or more of the NGI Applications Centers planned for operation in Northern and Southern California.

CalREN-2 interconnects California's major research and education institutions at high bandwidth capacity to enable the development of next generation research and education applications. CommerceNet will use CalREN-2 to enable the users of the two centers to develop advanced applications for future commercial use.

CENIC is a non-profit corporation that provides the leadership within the State for developing a statewide high performance network infrastructure for research and education. CommerceNet, is a global, non-profit organization leading the advancement of eCommerce worldwide.

"Premier technology enterprises like CommerceNet are embracing the capabilities of CalREN-2 in their quest to develop and to bring to market the next generation of Internet technologies and applications," said Thomas W. West, CENIC's president and executive director. "Moreover, collaborating with researchers at CENIC institutions enables the development and testing of pre-competitive communications services, software and equipment in support of advanced information technology applications crucial to the emerging network-driven economy," West explained.

In a partnership between CommerceNet and the California Trade and Commerce Agency- Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation, the State provided $5 million in cost sharing for this new initiative to make possible advanced testing, incubation and development of business applications and models that use NGI technologies. In addition, CENIC will work with CommerceNet to identify outreach and education opportunities for the larger California community.

"Electronic commerce applications have been responsible for much of the ongoing evolution of the Internet and the digital economy," said Mark Resch, CommerceNet president and chief executive officer. "As NGI technology matures, not only will new applications be developed using that technology, but a new class of business infrastructure services will be required to support those applications. The development of applications that use the high performance capabilities of CalREN-2 promise economic and social improvement of individuals, companies, industries, regions and communities."

CENIC is a not-for-profit corporation formed by the California Institute of Technology, the California State University, Stanford University, the University of California, and the University of Southern California to facilitate and coordinate the deployment, development, and operation of a set of seamless and robust advanced network services. The CENIC Associates program offers qualified organizations the opportunity to collaborate with CENIC in pursuit of the goal of providing the most advanced network services for research and education. Cisco Systems, IBM, Pacific Bell and Nortel Networks are CENIC's Associate Partners; General Atomics and Raytheon are Associate Affiliates.

CalREN-2 is the first project of CENIC, founded in 1997 by California's major research and academic universities. CENIC operates CalREN-2 for qualified public and private sector institutions for research and learning purposes. CalREN-2 is California's segment of the national Internet2 initiative and is partially funded by the National Science Foundation.

In the 2000-2001 fiscal year, the State of California provided funding for the Digital California Project, or DCP, which is CENIC's second project. The target of the DCP is the development of a cohesive and seamless high-speed statewide education network interconnecting K-12 schools and institutions of higher education in California.

More information about CENIC and its Associates program can be found at www.cenic.org. For further information about CommerceNet and the California Trade and Commerce Agency's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, please visit www.commerce.net and http://commerce.ca.gov/dsti, respectively.