The New England region has a high concentration of research, educational, and entrepreneurial organizations. This concentration has created a heavy demand for network communication services to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, both within the region and with colleagues in other parts of the nation and even internationally. Recognizing this need, Boston University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have spearheaded the formation of a regional network to improve communication services. The network, the New England Academic and Research Network (NEARNET), has 21 member organizations and is growing rapidly. Its current connection to the NSFNET backbone is shared with other JVNCNET users in the Northeast and increases the hopcount between NEARNET's most remote members and the backbone point of presence by as much as a factor of two. An additional backbone node located at MIT would provide more reliable, faster service to New England users of NSF facilities, such as supercomputers, and would make the unique resources that this region has to offer more accessible to the NSFNET community. This significantly improved access will be a catalyst for the development of the "information infrastructure" in New England.***
