The infrastructure required to run broadband networks requires increasing amounts of power, but those same networks can enable innovations that anchor institutions can use to better manage their power consumption -- as long as their own internal networks are designed to make use of them.
To examine these factors, CENIC is pleased to present the latest installment of its California Broadband, Energy, and the Environment Series, outlining how anchor institutions can use these innovations to manage their energy use and some of the factors they must keep in mind when designing their internal networks to support them.
Broadband-enabled Energy Innovations for Anchor Institutions
Anchor institutions’ unique uses of broadband come with increased use of bandwidth and energy, but broadband also brings with it the ability to actively manage their energy usage.
Engineers tasked with local decisions on network design must think about efficiencies that can be created through better visualization of their resource usage and integrated designs.
CENIC Energy Innovations and Middle-Mile Networks
Motivated by a desire to scale for the future while using its and its members’ resources as efficiently as possible, CENIC has achieved dramatic improvements in network-related power, equipment, and service provision.
By implementing power- and process-related efficiencies, CENIC was able to reduce its network power use from 343,000 to 106,000 kWh/month – a major cost savings and reduction in power consumption of over two-thirds and the equivalent of powering 270 households while still increasing capacity for its member communities. Learn More & Download >
To learn even more about middle-mile networks including what they are, what they will do for last-mile networks and their customers, the service products they could deliver, how they connect into the existing Internet, and how public and private networks work together, download CENIC’s Middle-Mile Network Series.
At the 2026 CENIC biennial conference, The Right Connection, attendees heard from top policy analysts stressing that building and sustaining relationships with representatives and agencies in D.C. remains as important as ever in the current federal funding climate.
At the recent CENIC 2026 biennial conference, a panel of national networking experts discussed what disaster response means for major research and education networks, including proactive planning to ensure that critical connections and services are maintained when needed most. The panel was moderated and led by Louis Fox, Chief Executive Officer of CENIC.