Welcome to the Virtual Possibilities Network...
changing the face of research and education in the Inland Northwest and beyond

The Virtual Possibilities Network (VPnet) is a consortium of education, private and public sector organizations that promotes education, research, and development in the Inland Northwest and beyond.  VPnet enables participating members to have access to a highly available and reliable "private" broadband Internet for distributed and interactive collaboration focusing on research, development, education and business incubation.

VPnet is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit corporation with a business model that encourages member participation by providing connectivity to each other as well as production-level service that is reliable and affordable.

The value of the VPnet consortium is in the power of leveraging and sharing information between its members and partners: 

• Connecting education with each other as well as with private and public sector organizations provides a toolkit for cooperative research, development and education, as well as the opportunity for joint grant pursuits with greater eligibility and strength for awards.

• VPnet supports collaborative e-learning initiatives between K-12, community colleges, private universities and research institutions.

• VPnet supports cluster research and development across numerous industries and initiatives such as healthcare, homeland security, technology, energy, manufacturing, and others.

• VPnet attracts leading researchers and scientists to our region.

• VPnet drives significant economic development for the Eastern Washington region by generating grant opportunities, research and science jobs, technology transfer, and commercialization opportunities.

• VPnet connects urban to rural communities for distributed education, research and business development activities.

• The value of VPnet is described by Metcalf’s law, which states that the "value" or "power" of a network increases in proportion to the square of the number of nodes on the network.

VPnet provides a model for the rest of our country, enabling unique opportunities with unforeseen levels of collaboration across diverse disciplines including education, research, healthcare, private and public sector.  The possibilities resulting from VPnet are endless: new applications, products, technologies, companies, jobs, ways of teaching and learning will all result in intellectual and economic value that can’t even be imagined today.

VPnet provides a microcosm of the future for our region and the entire nation.  The power of the VPnet, combined with attributes such as quality of life and affordability creates an opportunity for our communities to work in new ways, with innovation, research, and entrepreneurship as the cornerstone to our continued economic vitality. 

VPnet Founding Member Organizations
With the fiber donated by Avista Corporation and Columbia Fiber Solutions, VPnet currently provides high-speed communication links to 17 Inland Northwest member sites:

• Eastern Washington University
• Gonzaga University
• Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS)
• North Idaho College
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
• Community Colleges of Spokane
• Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute (SIRTI)
• Spokane Public Schools
• University of Idaho
• Washington State University
• Whitworth College

The power of fiber
The VPnet network connects VPnet members to each other with gigabit Ethernet bandwidth across the majority of the network.  VPnet provides Quality of Service support; a fully secure and routed IP architecture; and provides 24x7 monitoring, management and support with guaranteed response and repair times.  The network, which extends to Seattle, Washington, provides a communications gateway to other research and education consortiums, members or partners anywhere in the world.  VPnet provides secure interconnectivity to other members or partners by integrating with other private or public Internets.

See the VPnet network Map for more detail.

What can you do on VPnet?
VPnet is available as an R&D lab for broadband content, for multidisciplinary research, advanced collaboration, technological investigation, distance learning and business incubation projects. It can be used as a tool to facilitate collaborative research, or it can itself be the focus of research.

How can VPnet be used?
VPnet members are invited to participate if they have projects or applications that meet one of the following criteria: Research, development, e-learning, or business incubation.  Consortium members are encouraged to collaborate within and between organizations, as a means to maximize value and generate mutual benefit.  VPnet is interested in adding new VPnet members and partners to the consortium. 

Projects may be a product of the fine arts, liberal arts, science, health, engineering, product development, data collections and analysis, or distance education, just to list a few. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.

Who can access VPnet?
Use of VPnet is not exclusive to member organizations. However, any potential applicant will require a member organization as a sponsor and/or participant. VPnet highly encourages collaboration on projects among higher education, medical, business and government communities.

For more information
For additional information please Contact VPnet.