WASHINGTON - April 28, 1999 - At the annual Internet2 member meeting, Microsoft Corp. today became an Internet2 Corporate Partner and announced that it will make both financial and intellectual contributions to the project. As an Internet2 Corporate Partner, Microsoft will work with researchers at over 150 universities to develop advanced Internet applications and technologies.

"At Microsoft, we envision people connected to a highly evolved and more efficient Internet - one that is accessible any time, from anywhere," said Rick Rashid, vice president of Microsoft Research. "The Internet as we know it today is constantly pushed to its limits. Even though now we can participate in videoconferences or exchange audio and video clips with one another, the quality of the experience is not optimal or compelling enough to make it commonplace. By working with the Internet2 consortium, Microsoft is confident that together we can overcome the current technical challenges by developing the new network technologies that will eventually revolutionize the Internet experience."

As one of more than 15 Internet2 Corporate Partners, Microsoft will make contributions exceeding $1 million in goods and services to universities involved in the Internet2 project. Microsoft^® Research and the Microsoft Product Development groups will collaborate closely with Internet2 members and through the Internet2 Working Groups to build shared knowledge in current and emerging areas of common interest, including Quality of Service (QoS), IP Multicast and IPv6. Accelerating technology development in these and other areas will enable the global Internet to operate more efficiently and more reliably.

"We look forward to Microsoft joining the members of the Internet2 project in working together to enable research and education into the next century," said Doug Van Houweling, president and CEO of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), which is leading the Internet2 project. "This relationship not only demonstrates Microsoft's continuing commitment to R&D, but a willingness to be actively involved with the Internet2 university community in pursuit of our common goals to advance the global Internet."

"Microsoft has a tremendous potential to contribute to systems and networking areas of Internet2," said Ron Johnson, vice president of computing and communications, University of Washington. "The potential for delivering robust, real-time tele-immersion, tele-medicine and high-quality demand video, television, telephony and multimedia, as well as network-aware and adaptive applications and the 'trust fabric' middleware needed for pervasive electronic business, is no longer just a dream. But to make it real across the desktops of the world it's essential to have Microsoft's research and product development at the table."

To facilitate collaboration with Internet2 universities, Microsoft Research is establishing high-speed connections to Abilene, an Internet2 backbone network, and other Internet2 research institutions via the Pacific Northwest GigaPoP led by the University of Washington in Seattle.

The Internet2 project is being led by over 150 U.S. universities, working with industry and government, to enable and facilitate the advanced network applications necessary to meet

emerging needs in higher education. Internet2 participants are developing the broadband applications, engineering and network management tools for research and education. For more information on Internet2, a project of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), see http://www.internet2.edu/.