David Lassner
University of Hawaii
<david@hawaii.edu>
With substantial progress in Asia, Africa and a new Caribbean
R&E network going live this year, the Pacific may be the last
region of the world with no initiative to develop a regional
Research & Education (R&E) Network
New network infrastructure built and being built may provide
the Pacific with the first real opportunity to join the global R&E
Network community
NSF has funded an exploratory project to identify needs and
opportunities for R&E networking in the Pacific
The European Commission funded a similar study earlier in
the year
This exploratory project will engage the Pacific R&E community, scientists,
service providers and other stakeholders to develop concepts and
approaches for R&E networking in the Pacific Islands. While focusing on the
Pacific, we will study the O3b satellite network, which will have broad
applicability for R&E networking in other remote locations as well as for
ship-based research around the world.
1) Identify locations of interest for R&E networking in the Pacific Islands
including research facilities, colleges and universities and the key R&E
application drivers for these locations and their networking requirements.
2) Identify available infrastructure and plans relevant to R&E networking in
the locations and for the applications identified.
3) Work with participants and stakeholders to develop and disseminate plans
and approaches for deploying R&E networking for the targeted locations.
Research and Education (R&E) networks directly connect colleges,
universities, research facilities, schools, libraries, museums and
sometimes hospitals.
R&E network connections tend to be higher speed and deploy
advanced network capabilities earlier
In most countries, R&E network connections complement standard
“commodity” Internet connectivity
R&E network connections enable advanced applications in research
and education that are not feasible over commodity connections
Higher/Tertiary education usually anchors R&E network initiatives
R&E networks can be developed at the state/regional, national and
international level
Connect education & research communities
domestically and globally
Enable distance learning, training, access to content
and academic collaborations
Enable cyberinfrastructure-empowered research
Develop and deploy advanced network applications
and technologies
Enable new generation of applications
Transfer technology, knowledge and experience for
broad commercial use
Highly distributed population
Low density, Significant distances, Island geographies, including domestic
Weak economies
Limited educational attainment
Limited telecom infrastructure – internal and external
Economics and geography
Developing and variable telecom regulatory environment
Limited regional “glue”
Multiple political affiliations
Lack of coordination by development partners
Connectivity is most critical to the most isolated communities;
Unfortunately, they generally have the most limited capacity.
Expand distance learning opportunities and improve
educational capacity
Education, Public Health, Health Care, Social Work,
STEM, Environmental Studies, Business…
Enable collaboration with and access to resources at
colleges, universities, NGOs and others in the R&E
community around the world
Telemedicine
Public Health outreach and research
Enable strategic research using modern
cyberinfrastructure approaches
Environmental Studies, Climate Change & Sea Level
Rise, Ocean Acidification, Coral Reef Survival, Fisheries,
Island Sustainability, Indigenous Culture Preservation,
Sustainable Agriculture, Public Health, Bioinformatics
applications to people and the environment,
Earthquake & Tsunami Modeling, Disaster Resilience…
Develop workforce for local telecommunications and ICT
industries
Enable economic development through new informationand communications-based opportunities
Build appreciation for higher speed broadband and
demand for higher capacity services and infrastructure
Directly address meaningful national & regional problems
through modern research and education practices
Demonstrate utility of bandwidth abundance in a limited,
affordable and safe setting
Engage the region’s best & brightest with global
counterparts and collaborators
Develop the next generation of bandwidth-savvy workers
and citizens
Currently available fiber
Fiji – AU/US
Guam – Hawaii
New Caledonia – AU
Samoa - American Samoa – Hawaii
French Polynesia – Hawaii
Micronesia & Marshalls – Guam
Northern Marianas – Guam
PNG – AU & Guam
Fiber projects underway (funded)
Vanuatu – Fiji
Tonga – Fiji
Solomons – Guam & AU (via PIPE)
Fiber projects under consideration
Palau, Samoa, American Samoa
O3B Satellite, designed to serve the
“Other 3 Billion”
MEO / Ka Band Design:
High Speed - gigabit
Low Latency – 120 ms
Maritime service offering
Hawaii-based gateway
2013 Launch & RFS
Hawaiki Fiber System
AU/NZ – Hawaii with
branching units for Pacific
Islands
Established 1968
12 member countries
Multi owned and multi
funded
33million Sq Km ocean
Thanks to ACPConnect!
USP SERVING THE PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES
Univ of Hawaii &
Pacific Wave
via Honotua
Univ of
French Polynesia
(Tahiti)
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(FP)
AARNet via
Gondwana
Berkeley, NSF,
Stakeholders
Renater
(France)
Gump Station
(Moorea)
Univ of
New Caledonia
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(NC)
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(Guam)
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(Saipan)
Northern Marianas
College (Saipan)
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(Pohnpei)
Commercial
Internet &
local peering
(Majuro)
College of
Micronesia
(Pohnpei)
College of
Marshall Islands
(Majuro)
Guam GigaPOP
(UOG/GCC)
Univ of Hawaii,
Pacific Wave & Beyond
Pacific colleges and universities: PPEC, USP, UPF, UNC, NUS, PNG unis…
Pacific research institutions and their owners/operators
PITA members – Pacific Telecom Operators
APAN, PTC, PacNOG, PICISOC, APNIC…
Owners of the new infrastructure (Fiber projects, Satellite systems)
Pacific Island national & regional governments and leaders
Pacific Islands Forum
Existing R&E Networks in the U.S., Australia, NZ, France, Japan:
Internet2, AARNet, KAREN, RENATER..
National and international development agencies: EC, WorldBank, ADB,
AUSAid, NZAID, JICA, APT, ITU, UNESCO…
U.S. Government: NSF, Interior, State, Education, Commerce, CDC,
NASA…