NSFNET BACKBONE DECOMMISSIONED

NSFNET Program takes next steps in advancing networking

May 15, 1995 -- (NSF PR 95-37) -- Marking a new phase for the Internet, the
NSFNET Backbone was decommissioned at midnight on April 30, 1995. The
National Science Foundation, which established the NSFNET Program in 1985,
began an effort two years ago to privatize the backbone functions. With
the transfer complete, the current backbone is no longer necessary.

The NSFNET Program will continue to lead in the development of new
technology and new applications in networking for the research and
education community, with the emphasis placed on bandwidth-intensive
networking.

To establish the NSFNET Backbone, the proposal submitted by MERIT to the
NSFNET Program was founded on the belief that a national research network
is crucial for the future of scientific research in the United States.
MERIT proposed a partnership with IBM and MCI to provide backbone services
and advance networking technologies. The backbone connected NSFfunded
regional networks and Supercomputer Centers, making it possible for
research and education institutions to connect to regional networks and
gain access to each other and to resources such as the Supercomputer
Centers. Until now, the backbone has been funded by the NSF.

Creation of the NSFNET Program spawned a new industry, encouraging the
growth of electronic networks that collectively are known as the Internet.
The Internet continues to evolve, and the NSFNET Program will continue to
support the technologies and connections that help advance this
evolution.

"The NSF has been successful in promoting the use of networking among and
beyond the research and education community. This has changed the nature
of collaboration, and facilitated new opportunities in research and
education," said Priscilla Huston, Program Director for the NSFNET
Program.

"The commodity services that were supplied by the NSFNET Backbone can now
be acquired in the commercial sector. The NSFNET Program will work to
advance the technology and the tools for bandwidth-intensive networking
which will meet new applications needs."

The NSFNET Backbone service has been managed by Merit Network, Inc. since
1987 in partnership with IBM and MCI. In 1990, the partnership formed a
new non-profit corporation called Advanced Networking Services, Inc. that
was awarded a subagreement by Merit Network, Inc., to provide and operate
the NSFNET Backbone.

"The success of this project has been phenomenal. Merit forged an exemplary
partnership with IBM, MCI and the State of Michigan Strategic Fund, which
serves as a model for university, industry, and state and federal
cooperation. Each of the participants contributed key expertise and
resources and together, under Merit's leadership, led the research and
education community into a new era," said Jane Caviness, interim director
of the division of Networking and Communications Research and
Infrastructure at the NSF.

Speaking for the partnership, Merit's President Eric Aupperle praised the
leadership of the National Science Foundation.

"We are pleased and excited to have been the team behind the
extraordinarily successful backbone activity for the last seven years,"
Aupperle said. "It's rewarding to witness the results of our collaboration
as the Internets prominence continues its rapid pace. The Internet
wouldn't be what it is today without the guidance of NSF, particularly
Steve Wolff and his colleagues."

Wolff is the former director of NSF's division of Networking and
Communications Research and Infrastructure. He is retired from government
service and is currently employed by Cisco Systems, manufacturers of
internetworking hubs, routers, switches and software.

Throughout a transition period, the NSF is subsidizing -on a declining
scale -- regional networks that carry research and education traffic: 100
percent the first year; 75 the second; 50 the third; and 25 the fourth.
These regional networks were formerly connected to the NSFNET backbone for
free carriage of research and education traffic, but have now selected
network service providers from competitive services. If the costs of the
NSFNET Backbone were distributed across research and educational
institutions, on average, they could be expected to pay approximately
$1,500 more per year for connectivity (the average institution currently
pays between $10,000 and $60,000 for connections to the Internet). Most
consumers will experience no change in services or fees.

The NSF will continue to promote research on high bandwidth connections as
well as high bandwidth connectivity among the supercomputer centers, with
the very high speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) recently awarded to
MCI. The NSF also will continue to support connections of research and
education institutions to the Internet; international connections
services; the InterNIC, which provides nonmilitary domain name
registration services; and new networking tools and applications
development.

Press releases and other information are now available electronically on
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