Qwest^® and Internet2^® are making the seemingly impossible, possible!

How can a network help ensure that every mammogram counts in fighting breast cancer? The high bandwidth Abilene network is a key component supporting the National Digital Mammography Archive, which aims to revolutionize breast cancer screening. Abilene provides the network capability to transport enormous digital mammography images to make automatic detection, comparative studies and remote expert consultation possible.

Have you ever wanted to be in two places at once? The Abilene network makes university professors feel like they can do just that. Broadcast quality video and CD quality audio stream over Abilene, allowing educators to interact with students from thousands of miles away with outstanding clarity and realism. Abilene even allows music professionals on tour in distant cities to provide master classes to students in their home university — something not possible using the lower quality audio and video supported on the commercial Internet. Abilene is allowing creative minds to experience the first steps in the promise of comprehensive, high quality distance education.

What if you wanted to take that even further and interact in virtual reality? Tele-immersion provides long-distance, three-dimensional, real-time interaction between users and with computer-generated environments and objects. The National Tele-Immersion Initiative utilizes Abilene to allow users at different sites to work together in simulated environments via the compelling experience of tele-immersion. This exceptional combination of high-performance networking and media technologies is enhancing collaborative environments for educators and researchers nationwide.

How can we help you reach for the stars? Astronomers across the U.S. with access to Abilene can make observations remotely using telescopes located at the Mauna Kea Observatory. This Hawaiian mountaintop observatory is part of the Gemini project, consisting of twin telescopes in both hemispheres that together provide unprecedented coverage of the Northern and Southern skies. The high-performance network links that Abilene provides are critical to the joint operation of the two Gemini observatories.

These are just a few of the innovative uses of Abilene that Qwest is proud to make possible!