Indiana Speaker of the House and DLCC Board Member Pat Bauer met with leaders from the University of Indiana to announce the completion of a 1,178 miles of fiber-optic cable that forms the backbone of the network connecting more than 40 of the state's public and private universities.

The network will provide campus users with Internet connections up to 20 times faster than what they can access in their homes -- allowing researchers to access massive data collections and collaborate with professors from other schools.

The network also will vastly improve distance learning programs by enabling high-quality video streaming and high-definition learning tools like telepresence, a videoconferencing technology that gives users the impression of being in the classroom.

The state also believes that this kind of technological infrastructure will help encourage the opening of new business and the creation of new jobs.

All of which makes this a pretty good investment for $13 million.