Linking to Mexico: Connectivity Without Borders
Like other members of the Internet2
initiative, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) wanted to enhance its
research and educational power by joining the consortium of U.S. universities
linked to the ultra-high-speed network. But as a major university just miles
from the Mexican border, it also wanted to play a role in linking Internet2 to a
similar effort in Mexico and, from there, to Central America.
UTEP is
one of only 30 Internet2 gigaPOP sites, which allows it to serve as an Internet2
host for other institutions. To encourage scholarly and cultural exchanges with
Mexico, as well as to provide access to the latest technology in both countries,
UTEP built a high-speed, point-to-point wireless network. The network spans
about five miles from El Paso to Mexico’s Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez
(UACJ). UACJ is a member of a Mexican initiative to develop a high-speed network
compatible with Internet2.
UTEP opted for building a wireless network
after running into obstacles with fiber. Although local telephone companies on
both sides of the border could provide fiber to the universities, UTEP could not
obtain an affordable fiber link to join the phone lines between Mexico and the
United States. In fact, piggybacking on a 1-kilometer private fiber line that
bridged the two countries before connecting to public phone lines would have
cost an astronomical $17,000 a month. And laying its own fiber connection would
have taken months of clearing regulatory hurdles in both countries, and more
lengthy delays before construction could even start.
UTEP also
investigated and rejected a microwave system that operated in a licensed
frequency. To meet federal regulations, such a system required the university to
conduct a time-consuming and costly survey of everyone operating in the same
band to ensure that it would not cause interference.
Ultimately, UTEP
turned to a 100 megabits/sec wireless solution from Proxim Corp., whose Tsunami
network bridge comprises a system of small antennas and radio
receivers/transmitters mounted on the roof of a building on each campus. "The
network took less than three months to install because it operates in an
unlicensed frequency, which eliminated the need for regulatory approvals," says
Paul Maxwell, UTEP’s vice president for research and sponsored projects.
"Because the radios create a proprietary network, they offer secure high-speed
transmissions. And the system was affordable, costing less than $30,000."
This wireless link between UTEP and UACJ and another one in San Diego
are the only two connections between the U.S. and Mexican high-speed research
networks, providing redundancy and load balancing. UTEP connects to Internet2
using a 155 megabits/sec OC-3 fiber line.
The universities are planning
to use the connection to further studies in environmental engineering sciences,
materials science engineering, remote instrumentation, and biomedical and health
sciences. For instance, Mexican and U.S. researchers will be doing advanced
studies on how desert plants absorb heavy metals from mining to remediate
contaminated soil. Using the high-speed connection, they can access Stanford
University’s Synchotron—or a similar machine in Mexico—to remotely X-ray and
study where the metals are deposited in the plant.
Researchers also are
beginning to work with a binational commission to identify and improve
cross-border health issues. By using the high-capacity connection to tap into
large geographic information system databases, they will be able to track
disease outbreaks and help pinpoint causes, or trace groundwater routes to new
access points—a big issue for both the southwestern United States and northern
Mexico.
"The wireless network is helping us meet two other central
goals of our Internet2 efforts: distance learning and exchange in Mexico and
cultural enhancements and collaboration with Mexico," Maxwell says. In fact, the
university is already exploring ways to expand the wireless connection to the
local El Paso and Mexican school districts, allowing them access to Internet2
through UTEP.
For more information, contact Paul Maxwell at [email protected].