"By not being burdened with those expensive networking services, it allows us a lot of freedom to execute and do things we might not otherwise be able to do."

As a major university, Notre Dame has researchers, faculty and students working and studying in far−off corners of the globe. So it needs a top−notch data transmission system to communicate with them. Notre Dame found that − and more − with ChoiceLight. "We are not contained to a finite footprint comprising our campus," says Dewitt Latimer, chief technology officer and deputy CIO at the university.

"Metronet’s [ChoiceLight's] optic fiber system has been a real boon to our teaching and research efforts, helping faculty, staff and students share huge amounts of data for research projects," he says. On a typical day, he says ChoiceLight allows the university to transmit an average of roughly five terabytes − the equivalent of about 7,406 CDs.

Tapping into the powerful telecommunications capacity of ChoiceLight makes it possible for colleagues in South Bend to communicate and hold real−time teleconferences with peers working in Antarctica or even run multi−site meetings with scientists working in the jungles of Africa. By using ChoiceLight instead of a commercial carrier, Latimer says the savings to Notre Dame have been "substantial." In addition, he says the university has benefited from ChoiceLight by "allowing us to do things that we wouldn’t have been able to do.