MDREN will soon be evaluating vendor proposals for an upgrade to the optical network. The project will begin in the next few months and will upgrade the core of the network in Western Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and central Maryland to 400GB. The upgrade will significantly advance the network capacity to all USM institutions and other member campuses. The upgrade will start with the Western Maryland connection, followed by the Eastern Shore, and finally, central Maryland. It will be a 2–3-year project.  Campuses’ routers were upgraded last summer to make them  100 GB-capable.  Some campuses  already  have 100GB, and others are upgrading their campus networks to take full advantage of the upgrade. The upgrades will enable faculty and researchers to move large data sets for analysis and collaborative projects.