Montana Universities Lighting up Fiber – The Northern Tier Network Consortium

Two universities in Montana have received the go-ahead from their state board of regents to take out a $2 million loan to pay the cost of equipment to tap into fiber optic that runs from Seattle to Chicago and could serve as a network pipeline for the state.

The Northern Tier Network Consortium http://www.ntnc.org/ , formed by state agencies and universities, including Montana State University http://www.montana.edu/ in Bozeman and the University of Montana http://www.umt.edu in Missoula, will provide a high-speed optical network across multiple states, capable of delivering data at 20 gigabits per second.

By Dian Schaffhauser

Full Story: http://campustechnology.com/articles/2009/01/08/universities-lighting-up-fiber-in-montana.aspx