SAN FRANCISCO and WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- FuzeBox, a leading cloud-based provider of real-time communication and collaboration services, and Internet2, a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions, today announced availability of a cloud-based video conferencing and collaboration service offering for any non-profit university, college, educational or research institution in the United States.

FuzeBox delivers high-definition (HD) video conferencing, web conferencing and voice conferencing from mobile devices, desktops, conference rooms and classrooms. It also connects traditional video conferencing and telepresence systems from Cisco, Polycom, Tandberg, LifeSize, Radvision and others in one-to-one and group video calls. FuzeBox can be used via a web browser or through FuzeBox client applications on Windows, Mac and Linux devices, iPad and Android tablets and iOS and Android smart phones.

FuzeBox in Higher Education
Educational institutions like Saint Louis University (SLU) are using FuzeBox over the Internet2 Network to provide an unparalleled user experience for distance learning and overcome the barriers commonly associated with a distributed faculty and student population across campuses and around the world. After a highly successful pilot program, SLU partnered with Internet2's NET+ program to sponsor the service for global use and deployed FuzeBox university-wide to nearly 20,000 faculty, staff and students on campuses in St. Louis and Madrid. Applications include distance education, online classes, online office hours, test preparation sessions, training, guest lecturers, evening and adult education, and many administrative applications.

"Our faculty and students love using FuzeBox. The quality and overall experience is great, it's easy to use and works across devices," said David Hakanson, Saint Louis University vice president and chief information officer. "One of the exciting ways we are using FuzeBox is to enhance the full-degree programs with our Madrid campus."

First Video Conferencing Vendor to Achieve Internet2 NET+ Early Adopter Status
FuzeBox is the first provider of video conferencing and collaboration services to achieve the Internet2 NET+ Early Adopter status. This is the result of a rigorous evaluation process by the nation's research universities that allows Internet2 members to access all of FuzeBox services over the high performance Internet2 Network and under a national agreement with special member rate.

"We are just scratching the surface on the transformational impact the use of the emerging next generation, high definition, anyone to anywhere, real-time video collaboration products can have within research and education," said Shelton Waggener, Internet2 senior vice president. "The ability to extend the reach of institutions and engage students in dynamic, interactive ways from different locations, using smartphones, tablets or room based systems, creates endless opportunities to enhance and evolve the education experience. This Internet2 NET+ initiative gives our members and the entire nation's non-profit education community a proven application like FuzeBox to make this a reality today."

"The classroom has evolved, becoming a much more dynamic and distributed environment," said David Obrand, FuzeBox CEO. "Today's educators need technology to connect with students and peers no matter where they are. That's what we're passionate about at FuzeBox, connecting people through technology to collaborate and create – and that's why we're excited about this partnership with Internet2, since the research and education community is such a great fit for this technology."

Interested Internet2 members, and other non-profit, education and research organizations can visit the Internet2 NET+ FuzeBox page, email netplus@internet2.edu to learn more, or start using FuzeBox today for free at www.Fuzebox.com.

About Internet2
Internet2® is a member-owned advanced technology community founded by the nation's leading higher education institutions in 1996. Internet2 provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions in support of their educational, research, and community service missions.

Internet2 also operates the nation's largest and fastest, coast-to-coast research and education network, and serves more than 90,000 research and educational institutions, including more than 245 U.S. universities, 70 government agencies, 38 regional and state education networks, 60 leading corporations working with our community and more than 100 national research and education networking partners representing more than 50 countries. Internet2 offices are located in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Emeryville, Calif.; Washington, D.C; and West Hartford, CT. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu or follow @Internet2 on Twitter.

About FuzeBox
FuzeBox provides real-time voice, video and content collaboration solutions that allow people to work together more effectively across locations and devices. Leading companies, including Starbucks, NASA, Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, Kellogg's, and General Motors rely on FuzeBox technology for flawless presentations, online meetings, marketing webinars, screen sharing and collaboration. FuzeBox also helps solve the interoperability issues between HD telepresence systems by allowing users to easily connect regardless of which brand of equipment they use. FuzeBox was named one of Forbes' Most Promising Companies in America for 2013 and was recognized as the #125^th fastest growing company on the Inc 500. For more information visit www.Fuzebox.com.

SOURCE FuzeBox