The Global Environment for Network Innovations believes that almost 20 years is enough to classify the Internet as "outdated". GENI is now attempting to do what no one would have ever imagined: rebuild the entire Internet infrastructure.

With the Internet being such an integral part of our lives, it's difficult to remember how people functioned in the pre-online era. Instead of marvelling at the fact that we have an endless supply of information at our disposal, we complain that our software and products are outdated, slow, and difficult to manage.

Without even realizing it, we create a never-ending chain of supply and demand: days become months, our software/devices get older, companies invest millions of dollars to update their products and we purchase these "new" commodities.

While Al Gore would have us believe that he was the one responsible for inventing the Internet, the coalition assuming the challenge of updating the Internet is actually BBN Technologies, an advanced technologies solutions firm. The Global Environment for Network Innovations is one of the many difficult projects BBN Tech hopes to conquer in the near future. (Source: newstin.com)

To physically break down and rebuild the Internet, GENI will enlist the services of 29 university research teams.

BBN Tech has not only received the proverbial "green light" to pursue the project, the company will also receive $12 million in government funding, as well as bandwidth from two separate research hubs. While $12 million may seem like a substantial amount for research purposes, the U.S. government is doling out the money in the form of a three-year grant which will actually give the company roughly $4 million per year. (Source: cnet.com)

BBN Tech is also seeking an additional $3.5 million per year from outside investors, claiming that more finances leads to better research opportunities.

GENI has sparked the interest of several other organizations, such as Internet2 and National LambdaRail, which will supply the project with additional bandwidth.

While nothing appears to be problematic with the current Internet infrastructure, BBN Tech argues that having a new infrastructure will ensure that future developments in technology will be carried out much more smoothly.

GENI will hold initial research sessions either late this year or early next year.