SAN JOSE, Calif., January 19, 2005 - DANTE, an organization that plans, builds and operates pan-European networks for research and education, has selected Cisco Systems technology for the development of the ALICE project, "America Latina Interconectada con Europa" (Latin America connected with Europe).

The ALICE project has created the network for the connection of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in Latin American countries. It provides a direct link to the GÉANT pan-European network and to Internet2 in the United States, both next-generation Internet-based research network programs.

"We are proud to be working with DANTE to bring the power of this network to Latin America," said Mike McKeown, Manager, Education Sales, Cisco Systems Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The Cisco 12400 Series Routers were selected to create a central regional network that connects universities and scientific institutions across Latin America to conduct collaborative research and easily share findings and analysis .

In addition, Cisco is providing DANTE with ongoing support services for the entire network through its SmartNet program that helps to accelerate customer success by enabling the extension and enhancement of the operational lifetime of Cisco networking devices.

The new network will provide a high speed "ring" topology, linking the NRENs of Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Panamá and México, based on Cisco 12400 Series Routers. This new Latin American ring will be connected at 622 Mbps to the European research network GÉANT in Madrid, Spain. In addition, the Venezuelan NREN will be connected to the ring via a circuit between Caracas and Sao Paulo. Further connections will be added in the future as the network expands.

The new connections will enable a Latin American research network that will allow researchers in the region to collaborate directly for the first time with colleagues in American and European research projects. The new infrastructure will offer a significant improvement in the Latin American research infrastructure, optimizing the data communications facilities available for researchers and supporting them in their global research.

"The ALICE network increases the collaboration among the institutions in Latin America, and importantly with institutions in Europe and the United States - all good news for the capabilities of the region," said Andrew Sage, Senior Manager, Marketing, Cisco Systems Latin America. "The timing of the investment is important for the Latin American region, as we begin to see our businesses, universities and research institutions embrace the potential of the internet to drive important change," he concluded.

"The ALICE project is an important initiative of the European Commission, which supports the transfer of the best practice European research network model and adapts it to the local needs and conditions of Latin America," said Dai Davies, DANTE General Manager. "Having evaluated a number of options we chose Cisco based on their partnership approach to this important project and because of their innovative, high performance technology and advanced services."

ALICE

The ALICE project has created the RedCLARA network to provide dedicated research Internet connections between the research and educational communities of Latin America, and towards Europe. The ALICE project is co-ordinated by DANTE and partnered by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of 18 Latin American countries as well as FCCN, GARR, RedIris and RENATER, the NRENs of Portugal, Italy, Spain and France respectively. ALICE has also created CLARA, the Latin American Co-operation of Advanced Networks, and is DANTE's counterpart organization and project partner in the region. Further information can be found at www.dante.net/alice

DANTE

DANTE is a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to plan, build and manage pan-European research and education networks on behalf of Europe's NRENs. Established in 1993, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of pan-European research and education networking, and to the export of this model to other world regions. DANTE is currently managing initiatives operating in Europe, the Mediterranean, Latin America and Asia through the GÉANT2, EUMEDCONNECT, ALICE and TEIN2 projects respectively. More information is available at www.dante.net