Internet2 is a consortium that united more than 200 US universities  and over 60 leading companies (such as AT&T, Intel, Sun Microsystems, and Cisco Systems) in partnership with government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of  Internet of the nearest future.  Development activities of Internet2 are performed in committees known as Working Groups (WG), Special Interest Groups (SIG), or Advisory Groups (AG). Each area has an assigned Director who is responsible for the activities in their area. Members who do the work of the groups come from Internet2 member institutions and partners.

The primary goals of Internet2 was to:

• Enable revolutionary Internet applications

• Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community

• Create a leading edge network capability for the national research community.

At present, Internet2 members created the Abilene Network  (with speed data transaction about 10 Gbit/s). and National LambdaRail project. National LambdaRail is a high-speed national computer network in the United States that runs over fiber-optic lines, and is the first transcontinental network.

Here is only one example, why American society needs Internet2.  On May 26, 2005 , the National Press Club, researchers from leading universities and technology companies  provided the first  demonstration of a next-generation 911 (NG9-1-1) prototype solution that was developed to address the time-critical issue of locating users of Internet-based phones and other Internet-enabled communication applications to ensure they receive the vital help they need when they need it. The existing circuit-based 911 system is limited in its ability to support new technology like VoIP (mobile Voice over Internet Protocol) telephone calls in which a user's IP address is not specifically assigned to any one geographic location. This makes it challenging for 911 dispatchers to accurately identify a caller's location. The new system  demonstrated  the capabilities of an Internet-based emergency call delivery system for mobile telephone  users to an IP-capable PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point). The NG9-1-1 system is also designed to provide multimedia capabilities. For instance, callers using the NG9-1-1 system in the future will have the ability to provide video from the emergency scene to dispatchers or will allow a responder to send video instruction (e.g. CPR) to the emergency site. For  more information please see: http://ng911.tamu.edu

There are  some additional possibilities envisioned by Internet2:

Distributed learning system:  Internet2  may realize  the optimal Instructional Management System (IMS) to help  teachers and students share materials in cyberspace  for  learning in a self-directed manner under the supervision of an educational system or teacher.

For more information see and order the book "Artificial Intelligence Around Us".