News Release

FREDERICTON (CNB) – The partner organizations in the Optical Regional Advanced Network (ORAN) gathered today in Fredericton to unveil a new high-speed network and to welcome the newest members to their partnership.

They also celebrated the 40th anniversary of the New Brunswick/ Prince Edward Island Educational Computer Network.

The ORAN is a joint initiative designed to provide a high-speed network that maximizes capacity while reducing capital and operating costs for all partners, to facilitate cutting-edge research and collaboration regionally and globally.

The initiative includes:

●    CANARIE Inc.;
●    the provincial government;
●    New Brunswick universities;
●    the Maritime College of Forest Technology;
●    the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission; and
●    the National Research Council of Canada;

The two new partner organizations are:

●    the New Brunswick Community College; and
●    Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick.

The new research network features extensive fibre installations, redundant links around New Brunswick, improved bandwidth, and state-of-the-art equipment. The network, which is scalable to meet future needs, includes a predictable pricing model for at least 10 years and provides a reliable platform for another 10 years. Network capacity will be up to 10 times what had been previously available.

"As New Brunswickers, we are building our future through the tremendous creativity and ingenuity of our skilled workforce,” said New Maryland-Sunbury West MLA Jack Carr. “Today's announcement will help New Brunswick's information and communications technology industry continue its remarkable record of growth and achievement, while playing a critical part in building our province and our country. This is a great example of the way we can build a brighter tomorrow through innovation and partnership."

Carr attended the event on behalf of Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud.

"Having an organization with a national mandate, like CANARIE, ensures all regions of Canada benefit from the power of advanced network technology," said Jim Roche, president and chief executive officer of CANARIE. "We are proud to be a member of this strong partnership in New Brunswick, one that supports world-class research and discovery, creative educational initiatives, and innovation in the private sector."

"We are proud to join in the New Brunswick Optical Regional Advanced Network,” said Liane Roy, president and chief executive officer of Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick. “Our college promotes innovative partnerships that give opportunities to high-performance information technologies allowing for better teaching integration within the classroom. The collaborative project gives the postsecondary system, as well as the research community in New Brunswick, quick and efficient access to high-performance networks. ORAN will boost our college corporation's capabilities towards innovation and entrepreneurship."

The funding partners for the new network are:

●    CANARIE Inc., $3,148,000;
●    New Brunswick universities and the Maritime College of Forest Technology, $3,500,000;
●    New Brunswick Community College and Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick , $3,500,000;
●    National Research Council, $350,000;
●    provincial government, $500,000.

The partners took advantage of the network launch to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Educational Computer Network, which includes the publicly-funded universities in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, the Maritime College of Forest Technology, Holland College and the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission.

This network provides connectivity to member institutions. Additional benefits include joint purchasing and licensing, shared support services, professional development and the delivery of network-based services and information exchange.

"The Educational Computer Network is a highly successful example of interprovincial and inter-institutional co-operation between post-secondary institutions in the area of information technology services," said Yvon Fontaine, president of the Université de Moncton and chair of the network. "For 40 years we have been efficiently leveraging resources to reduce costs, avoid unnecessary duplication, and connect our members to the wider world.

"The new network will provide increased capacity to educators, students, innovators and researchers in New Brunswick, so they can collaborate and participate in research and innovation projects regionally, nationally and globally. The network will facilitate next-generation research and deliver the associated scientific, economic and cultural benefits of that research to the region."