Focus on Federal: Internet2 Responds to Nation’s Call to Action for Post-Quantum Cryptography Solutions

Internet2 Updates for Federal Affiliate Members

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Inside this Issue

• Featured Resource: Four Updates on the Internet2 Network Infrastructure, Quantum-Safe Cryptography
• Community Voices: Internet2 and Cisco Expand AI Capacity for the National Research Platform
• Events Spotlight: TechEX26 Sessions for Your Calendar

Demand for AI-ready infrastructure among federal agencies is accelerating even as they contend with tighter budgets and aging cyberinfrastructure.

At the same time, the push toward quantum-safe encryption and more resilient, precisely synchronized networks is getting closer to deployment. Internet2 and its members are tackling both fronts together.

This issue of Focus on Federal looks at efforts driving progress, including a refresh of the Internet2 Packet Platform enabling native 800 Gbps backbone circuits, a new precision timing initiative, and continued quantum-readiness work. It also covers new AI capacity added to the National Research Platform and 2026 Internet2 Technology Exchange session highlights for federal attendees.

Featured Resource: Four Updates on the Internet2 Network Infrastructure, Quantum-Safe Cryptography

In June, Internet2 released a request for proposals for the next-generation Internet2 Packet Platform, centered on three core capabilities:

• 800 Gbps Ethernet for high-density capacity
• Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) for line-rate encryption
• Highly scalable control plane to support traffic engineering and Ethernet VPN (EVPN)

To provide the capacity the Internet2 community needs for the next five to seven years, the refresh will enable native 800 Gbps backbone circuits. The upgrade is driven by real demand, with several network segments already operating at roughly half of their current 400 Gbps capacity.

Following a successful demonstration of FIPS 203-compliant, quantum-safe encryption on the Internet2 backbone in April, and with added urgency from a June 2026 executive order, Internet2 is moving from demonstration to developing a solution for PQC data-in-transit.

Early testbed work is also underway to explore Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) as an added layer of protection against ‘harvest now, decrypt later’ threats for the most sensitive, long-lived data traversing the network.

Read the blog to learn more about the Packet Platform Refresh, quantum readiness, a new precision timing initiative, and global network advancement efforts.

From the Community: Internet2 and Cisco Expand AI Capacity for the National Research Platform

As a long-standing contributor to the National Research Platform (NRP), Internet2 recently expanded the platform’s shared capacity through its strategic relationship with Cisco. New Cisco AI PODs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Sacramento State give researchers nationwide GPU capacity when local resources fall short.

Supported by the National Science Foundation and more than 70 organizations, the NRP pools computing resources into a shared Kubernetes cluster instead of one centralized supercomputer. Its partners include federal organizations such as NOAA, the Department of Energy’s ESnet, the Naval Postgraduate School, NCAR, and LIGO.

Because the AI PODs arrive pre-validated with compute, networking, and management built in, they cut integration work and offer a repeatable model for other contributors, including federal partners, as AI computing demand grows.

Read the announcement to learn more or contact federal@internet2.edu to explore collaborative engagement opportunities for your agency.

Events Spotlight: TechEX26 Sessions for Your Calendar

Below is a small sampling of sessions that resonate with our federal members, though there’s much more on the full agenda.

Monday, Oct. 26: Tutorials and Workshops

• 8-11:30 a.m. | Hands-on Tutorial on SmartNICs / Data Processing Units (DPUs)
• 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. | Beyond the Core: Deploying IPv6 to Users
• 1-4:30 p.m. | Hands-On AI-Powered Network Troubleshooting with LibreChat and MCP
• 1-4:30 p.m. | Quantum Computing: Hands-on Hybrid Workflows, Quantum Error Correction, and Developing HPC Applications on IQM Quantum Computers

Advanced Networking

• Tue., Oct. 27, 10:20-10:45 a.m. | Vendor-Neutral Firewall Automation
• Tue., Oct. 27, 11:20-11:45 a.m. | HAWAT: Building an AI-Augmented NOC with Federated Agent-to-Agent Interoperability
• Tue., Oct. 27, 3:05-3:30 p.m. | Let’s Transfer 15 Petabytes of Data
• Wed., Oct. 28, 11:20-11:45 a.m. | Operationalizing AI in Research Networks: Data Pipelines, Topology Intelligence, and Lessons from AmLight
• Wed., Oct. 28, 2:40-3:05 p.m. | Post-Quantum Pathways: Defending Networks with PQC and QKD

Cloud Technology

• Tue., Oct. 27, 2:40-3:30 p.m. | Context is King: MCP and AI
• Wed., Oct. 28, 11:20 a.m.-12:10 p.m. | Centralized Networking in AWS: Silver-Bullet Solution or Howling Complexity?

Information Security

• Wed., Oct. 28, 10:20-11:10 a.m. | Securing at Machine Speed: Protecting Institutions in the Age of AI-Driven Threats
• Wed., Oct. 28, 11:20 a.m.-12:10 p.m. | Effects of Quantum Computers on Network Security Protocols
• Thu., Oct. 29, 1:40-2:30 p.m. | Zero Trust Segmentation Architectures – Balancing Academic Agility, Security, and TCO

Identity & Access Management

• Tue., Oct. 27, 1:40-2:30 p.m. | Governance of Non-Human Identities Using midPoint