one of the most advanced statewide telecommunications networks dedicated to research, education and economic competitiveness in the nation.
[2] OARnet is connected in Cleveland and Cincinnati to Internet2, the United States' most advanced nationwide research and education network.
The initial plan (1987) was to make use of a number of existing Bitnet and CCnet (regional DECnet network) connections to get started.
Many subsequent lines at 9.6 kbit/s, 56 kbit/s, and T1 (1.544 Mbit/s) were installed with the aid of an Ohio Department of Administrative Services contract with Litel Corp. Internet (then NSFNET) connections were obtained in the spring of 1988.
OARnet served as the backbone for Ohio News Network to transmit Miami Redhawks hockey.
Another sharp jump in capacity occurred in 2012, when the State of Ohio funded an upgrade[6] of the OARnet backbone to 100 Gigabits per second.