A trans-Pacific high-speed connection between the very high performance Broadband Network Service (vBNS) and Singapore Research and Education Network (SREN) will be officially launched on 7 Nov 97 by the Assistant to the USA President for Science, John Gibbons (invited) and Singapore's Minister for Education and the Chairman of National IT Committee, Rear Admiral (RAdm) Teo Chee Hean.

This event is jointly organized by the USA National Science Foundation (NSF), the Singapore National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) and the Telecommunication Authority of Singapore (TAS), and will be held at the Grand Hyatt, Washington D.C.

The set up of SINGAREN is funded by the Singapore Government via NSTB and TAS, to facilitate research collaboration amongst universities and research intitutions in Singapore and the United States. SINGAREN is also strategic to the development of Singapore ONE, a project to build a nation-wide commercial broadband network and deliver interactive multimedia services to both the business and home users. Since 9 June 1997, the Singapore ONE pilot network has been operational and the nation-wide access to Singapore ONE services will be available by the end of 1997, making it the first nation-wide multimedia commercial broadband network in the world.

The vBNS is a project by the National Science Foundation, in cooperation with MCI, to provide a national infrastructure for high performance networking as well as research which pushes the capabilities of high-end networking. The vBNS plays a major role in Clinton's Administration of the Next Generation Internet Initiative, where NSF supercomputer centers are connected to approximately 100 selected research institutions, supporting their national-scale projects in the applications and technologies of advanced networks.

The vBNS-SREN linkup will open up new information pathways for linkup through STAR-TAP and facilitate high-speed research and education between research partners of the United States of America and Singapore, and facilitate the development, deployment, operation and technology transfer of advanced, network-based applications and network services in line with Internet 2 objectives. Already there are collaborative projects between renowned USA and Singapore universities and research institutes, in the technology areas including Immersive Virtual Reality, Bioinformatics, Tele-Manufacturing, Tele-Education, Tele-Medicine and Tele-Architecture.

The vBNS-SREN linkup will present the opportunity for technology to transcend geographical boundaries and will deliver high performance Internet to the benchtops of our laboratories. The future will hold a radical change in our children's classrooms, bringing a new definition to education. Extensive research and development in the areas of Tele-Medicine will stretch the limitations of healthcare in the 21st century.

The success of the academic applications in the vBNS-SREN linkup will serve as a significant test-bed for future potential investors, presenting valuable lessons in internet research for the future in terms of its commercial applications.

Next Generation Internet is our connection to the future.