NSF awards $2.8 million to initiate CERFnet for 34 of the leading research and education centers in California.  

Before CERFnet, some of California’s leading research and academic institutions had medium-speed access to the NSFNET backbone but a substantial increase in bandwidth and connectivity was needed to encourage usage by making access easier, faster, and cost-efficient. The availability of high-speed networking and supercomputer power greatly expanded computational possibilities. CERFnet, originally proposed by Susan Estrada of SDSC, became one of the NSFNET regional networks and a co-founder of the Commercial Internet eXchange (CIX).