The superfast speed of 100 gigabits per second is attainable only on Internet2, the data network that connects nearly two-thirds of college campuses and about one-third of U.S. high schools.

Internet2, founded in Chicago a decade ago as an academic-based digital alternative, has morphed into a breeding ground of innovation with a major impact on commercial cyberspace.

Some 10 million university students across the country use Internet2, so it provides a testing ground not just for new technology, but also for the popularity and economic feasibility of new products, said Mort Rahimi, Northwestern University's chief technology officer and among Internet2's founders.

"Students are great for testing new technology," he said. "They use it 24 hours a day."

It enabled the young people who start companies like Google and YouTube to think of the Internet in terms of truly high-speed connectivity.

In another example, while AT&T Inc. promises that it will offer Internet-based television, or IPTV, to some Chicago-area customers next year, students living in dorms at Northwestern have been getting TV programs over their Internet connections for four years.

"The typical student can be watching one or more TV programs, typing a term paper and sending e-mails--all from a single device," said Rahimi.