The Internet in its embryonic stage appeared in 1969 as a communications network used primarily by academic researchers and scientists. As the medium became increasingly commercialized in the 1990s, however, thousands of consumers began to log on, which slowed down the speed of data transmission. Academics—frustrated by the traffic jams and speed limits of the commercial Internet—decided to create a network that they would not have to share with consumers. The fruit of their labors was Internet2, a collaboration among U.S. research universities, the National Science Foundation, and several technology companies.

Internet2 uses an existing high-speed national network that has been used for years to connect federal supercomputer centers. Most universities receive grants from the National Science Foundation to pay for the cost of connecting to the network. Once connected, academics from participating schools can...