I'm wondering whether Wikimedia has ever considered participating in the Internet2 research network (Wikipedia articlehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2; official website http://www.internet2.edu).
I had found out about it after reading a news article about how Missouri University changing its 10 Gbit/s connection to 100 Gbit/s. I then read the website and found that Wikimedia's and their missions go together very well; part of it is the commitment to sharing and spreading information. While they are focused on developing new technologies and that isn't exactly Wikimedia's primary focus, I see big potential for Wikimedia to benefit from participation on the network, as it could make our information more accessible to researchers on the network.
When thinking about why Wikimedia wasn't participating, I noticed the costs of membership. Wikimedia would participate as an Affiliate, which according to the membership pagehttp://www.internet2.edu/membership/membership_structure.cfm, consists of "Non-profit organizations that are research- and/or education-oriented, with a strong interest in Internet2's mission and goals. They are committed to promoting the development and deployment of advanced Internet applications and network services in the conduct of research and education." (sounds like us!). For us, as a level 4 affiliate (since our operating budget is certainly below 100 million US dollars a year) , we would pay $10,000/yr.
I previously spoke to Ironholds about this, but neither he nor I know whether the WMF has previously considered it.