UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., May 23 -- AT&T is donating more than 500 miles of fiber optic cable worth more than $2 million to the University of Pennsylvania to support several pilot outreach projects in communities across the state. The fiber optic cable will be used as part of the Penn State Outreach and Cooperative Extension Community Network Initiative, which advocates that all citizens in the community have free access to computers, high-speed Internet access, software and training. James H. Ryan, vice president at Outreach and Cooperative Extension, said, "Many communities are losing or have lost their traditional manufacturing and natural resource-based industries. As a result, youth and young families are leaving their communities, tax bases for schools and local governments are declining, unemployment and underemployment rates are rising and poverty levels are growing. Access to information technologies can foster economic development." AT&T Pennsylvania President J. Michael Schweder said, "America has enjoyed universal telephone service for generations. At AT&T, we look forward to the day when advanced digital services will be just as widely available, and at a cost that's just as affordable." AT&T's donation includes about 400 miles of 24-strand single-mode fiber optic cable and about 85 miles of 48-strand single-mode fiber optic cable, with 12 strands of True Wave fiber capable of supporting wave division multiplexing, as well as smaller quantities of several other types of fiber optic cable. The fiber optic cable will be used to connect the buildings of publicly funded organizations. The system will run protocols like Ethernet, allowing the buildings to appear as one entity to a broadband services provider. For more information, visit: www.att.com