This is Internet On The Air, I'm Todd Mundt. Streamlining traffic on the information superhighway. Details in a moment.

Funding Credit: Internet On The Air is a production of the University of Michigan School of Information and Michigan radio, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Internet has often been called an information superhighway...but at times, heavy use makes it seem more like a congested two-lane road. Critics point to the need for "access ramps" and "bus lanes" to handle its more specialized cargo, like voice communication and video conferencing.

Solutions may come from Internet2. It's a prototype for an information "interstate" being developed through a partnership between research universities, the government and corporations. Internet2 uses a network one hundred times faster than the current version…it also includes the technical capability to regulate and meter data used by different kinds of applications.

Douglas Van Houweling is the chief executive officer of the Internet2. He says the project will let people develop applications that are not possible on today's Internet. Using Internet2, scientists will be able to share large quantities of data in new ways. Internet Two can also facilitate virtual meetings, carrying the data for video, sound and whiteboards simultaneously in real-time.

Van Houweling predicts some features of Internet2 will begin to appear on the Internet within three to four years. High quality virtual meetings and access to substantial units of broadcast video and audio in real-time may come first. But how quickly this happens depends on how soon Internet service providers upgrade their networks.

To learn more about Internet2 and to listen to an interview with Douglas Van Houweling, visit our Web site at www.iota.org. For Internet On The Air, I am Todd Mundt.