A Senate bill passed this month will allow Harvard to share more information with other universities, laboratories and libraries across the nation faster than ever before.
The bill calls for a new computer network system, the National Research and Education Network, which will be much faster than the current system and will accommodate more information.
"It is a major move towards opening general communication for the future," said Lewis A. Law, Harvard's director of computer services.
The new network system, which may be operational by the end of this year, will be able to transmit up to 30 times more information than the current system, Law said.
Harvard now participates in a networking system called New England Academic and Research Network (NEARNet). Stephen C. Hall, director of the Office for Information Technology, said that NEARNet is "functional," but cannot keep up with the increasing demands of networkers.
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