Browsers opened the Internet to the commercial market, and the 1991 launch of the World Wide Web caused a commercial Internet explosion. Today, the Internet has more than 47 million Web sites, attracting 72 million users from 92 countries, according to figures from Forrester Research Inc. of Cambridge. This influx of traffic has resulted in slower service to all, including the original users for whom the Internet was de-signed. Internet2 will take the same technology used in the current In-ternet, but with hardware improvements to offer faster service. I2 is basically a huge research project that will test improved routers before the commercial market gets involved.
Routers are key devices used to direct the information that the Internet transmits.
Current routers are too slow and send all types of data at the same speed, said John Patrick, vice president of Internet technology at IBM Corp., a corporate sponsor of Internet2. New routers are designed to overcome the handicaps of current devices. These hops slow down the speed of the Internet and increase the chance of lost data. ATM technology, combined with routers, should eliminate hops altogether. President Clinton recently appointed an Internet2 advisory board of Internet experts, many of whom were involved with bringing the Internet to prominence.