Interest in and use of the Internet has grown massively over the past few years. This growth has caused many problems as networks designed for thousands of users are now handling millions. If you've tried to surf the net in the evening you have likely run across the problems of congestion as you wait impatiently for web pages to appear.
Fixing the problem will require major re-building efforts, especially to replace the major backbone networks. Initiatives are underway in the United States and Canada to build the required infrastructure for what is being called the Next Generation Internet.
Canada is actually leading the way in building the new Internet. Coordinated by CANARIE, work is now underway on the building of CA*net II to replace the existing CA*net network.. CA*net II is a partnership of Canada's leading universities, research institutions, industry and carriers. The national backbone for CA*net II is based on the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) facilities operated by Canada's telecommunications carriers. Special access points called GigaPOPs (Gigabit-capacity Points of Presence) are being constructed in each province and in Ottawa to link local broadband networks and services to this backbone. CA*net II will connect up to 13 GigaPOP's which in turn will connect most of Canada's major universities and research institutions through Regional Advanced Networks. The BC GigaPOP will be operated by BCnet and Rnet.