Who We Are, What We Do

Learn more about MOREnet — our history, our values and how we can serve you. About MOREnet What is MOREnet? How to Contact MOREnet History of MOREnet Core Ideology MOREnet Council Organization Chart Find MOREnet News Announcements Articles MOREnetworking Newsletter MOREnetworking: Podcast Media Information   MOREnet Service Policies Participation Agreement (PDF file; 27 KB) Member Satisfaction Survey Employment Opportunities Reports

What Is MOREnet?

The Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet) provides Internet connectivity, access to Internet2, technical support, videoconferencing services and training to Missouri's K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, health care, state government and other affiliated organizations.

Established in 1991, MOREnet operates as a unit within the University of Missouri, and is based in Columbia, Mo. The MOREnet network is the foundation infrastructure. Members of the education community interact with each other via data and video services; public sector business applications are built and conducted on it; and Missouri citizens interact with their state government through it.

MOREnet is not a private Internet service provider and does not provide services, including dial-up access, on an individual basis.

Leading Missouri and the Nation

MOREnet (Missouri Research and Education Network) provides high-speed, reliable Internet access to the state’s public sector. A unit of the University of Missouri System, MOREnet serves Missouri’s K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, state government, teaching hospitals and clinics and other affiliates. In addition to Internet connectivity, MOREnet provides training and technical support needed to make that connection a useful tool. These services ensure that the time MOREnet members spend with technology is productive and furthers their individual missions.

MOREnet Services: More Than Wires

Beyond Internet connectivity, training and technical support, MOREnet provides many additional services. They include access to online reference resources, opportunities to converse with colleagues in technical and topical discussion lists, security education and assistance, videoconferencing and more.

MOREnet Network: Robust and Reliable

MOREnet encouraged the state’s telecommunications providers to construct a MOREnet-designed, advanced, high-speed, high-bandwidth network throughout Missouri. These connections, managed by MOREnet on behalf of the state’s schools and libraries, also laid the groundwork for Internet availability to thousands of rural Missourians.

A single reliable, carrier-class, high-quality network offers economies of scale, as well as more options than several smaller networks. Network sharing allows MOREnet members access to a broader range of services — giving each organization more than any one could afford alone.

MOREnet: Leading the Nation

In 2001, MOREnet became one of the first five state education networks admitted to the Internet2 Sponsored Educational Group Participants Program. The Program seeks to introduce the broader educational community to Internet2, an advanced national education and research network, created to avoid the crowded pathways of the current Internet. Internet2 is capable of handling cutting-edge, multimedia applications and collaborative projects. Previously available only to member universities, Internet2’s high-performance network is now available to MOREnet members.

MOREnet is leading the way in the field of educational technology. MOREnet’s Executive Director, Bill Mitchell, is one of two leaders of the Internet2 K-20 Initiative. The Initiative facilitates projects that explore ways to extend advanced network applications, services and digital content quickly throughout the education community, to enhance teaching, learning and research.

MOREnet helped initiate the annual Gathering of State Networks and participates in national leadership functions in educational technology organizations such as EDUCAUSE and the Consortium of School Networks (CoSN).