Internet project boosts speed for Kentucky universities

The Council on Postsecondary Education and the University of Kentucky teamed up to give state universities a big boost in Internet speed to aid research

The upgrade to the Kentucky Regional Optical Network gave all eight schools a tenfold increase in access to Internet2, operator of the nation’s largest research and education infrastructure.

“We are very pleased to partner with the University of Kentucky on this cutting-edge initiative,” said council President Bob King. “The addition of a 100 gigabit connection to Internet2 will provide a much needed boost to advance research at our universities.”

The upgrade allows universities that are part of KyRON to transmit very large databases, conduct complex scientific research and access remote computing systems.

UK provided management of the research network upgrade, while the council provided almost $1 million in funding and statewide coordination of network access. UK also paid $650,000 for equipment.

This story was originally published May 11, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Internet project boosts speed for Kentucky universities."