By TRACIE DUNGAN

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

An ultra-broadband network designed for academic researchers is now expected to tie on all Arkansas’ four-year public universities and its medical school before the end of the year, officials coordinating the project say.

Mike Abbiatti heads the Arkansas Research and Education Optical Network, or ARE-ON.

It is installing fiber-optic cable around the state to connect to the so-called “e-corridor.”

The next-generation Internet infrastructure allows university researchers to send large, complex...