On June 11, 2001, RINET was connected and passing traffic through to the Internet2 (I2) Abilene network. Internet2 is a re-establishment of the partnership among academia, industry and government that established the commercial Internet that is in use in our schools, homes, and businesses today. Tele-immersion, virtual laboratories, digital libraries, and distributed instruction are just a few examples of the applications whose utility is limited by the volume of traffic and the commercialization of the current, commercial Internet.  The I2 consortium is working to accelerate the development of advanced network applications and technologies to:

· Create a leading edge network capability for the national research community
· Enable revolutionary Internet applications
· Ensure the rapid transfer of new network services and applications to the broader Internet community.

Thanks to our sponsors, OSHEAN, URI, and Brown University, and our connector, the Northern Crossroads (NoX), RINET subscribers now have full access to other I2 members and the related ability to participate in advanced network applications, such as, the video-over-IP projects being sponsored by RIDE through the Working Wonders grants.