Internet2 or I2 is a national consortium of 200+ collegiate institutions that fosters opportunities for members to engage in high level, data-intensive initiatives in research and education. It is not an Internet network, although for convenience I2 as a label is often used to refer to the high- capacity networks available to its members. In the US, these are Abilene and National LambdaRail, through which I2 members can connect to similar networks in over 40 countries on 5 continents. Abilene is a 10Gbps pipe, with IUPUI serving as its national hub. Indiana University, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, and IHETS are on the Abilene network. For more information on I2, check this website at www.internet2.org.

For music applications, I2’s capacity to support CD quality stereo sound and high definition television affords alternative avenues of instruction, live and prerecorded performance, and sharing of large files imbedded with music, text, video, illustrations, and animation.