The North Carolina Research and Education Network (www.ncren.net) is a private telecommunications network serving education and research affiliated institutions such as universities, community colleges, government, libraries and non-profit organizations. Members are interconnected via a broadband digital WAN that supports both data communications and video services. In addition, members share high performance commodity Internet gateway services and Abilene access for Internet2 members.

UNC technology administrators have been instrumental in the design and planning of NCREN3, a major upgrade of the network. Joining them in their mission has been Robyn R. Render, UNC vice president for information resources and CIO. The goal is to create one of the finest production Internet networks in the nation.

As envisioned, NCREN3 will evolve in collaboration with NC Net and other communities. NCREN3 will provide the infrastructure to:

• Meet the rapidly escalating demand for reliable and dependable network services and capabilities.
• Exploit the value of collaborative development activities and sharing of resources.
• Significantly expand the set of users to include all of education and government.
• Coordinate and leverage existing network resources, capabilities and personnel.
• Provide flexibility for regional variability and management.