1. David Lassner University of Hawaii

2. 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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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…

9. Develop workforce for local telecommunications and ICT industries Enable economic development through new information- and communications-based opportunities Build appreciation for higher speed broadband and demand for higher capacity services and infrastructure

10. 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

11. 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

12. Established 1968 12 member countries Multi owned and multi funded 33million Sq Km ocean USP SERVING THE PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES Thanks to ACPConnect!

13. Univ of French Polynesia (Tahiti) Univ of Hawaii & Pacific Wave via Honotua Univ of New Caledonia AARNet via Gondwana Renater (France) Berkeley, NSF, Stakeholders Commercial Internet & local peering (FP) Gump Station (Moorea) Commercial Internet & local peering (NC)

14. Guam GigaPOP (UOG/GCC) College of Marshall Islands (Majuro) Univ of Hawaii, Pacific Wave & Beyond College of Micronesia (Pohnpei) Northern Marianas College (Saipan) Commercial Internet & local peering (Guam) Commercial Internet & local peering (Saipan) Commercial Internet & local peering (Pohnpei) Commercial Internet & local peering (Majuro)

15. 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…