Darkstrand, a Chicago firm that provides industry with access to an ultra high-speed fiber optic network, says it has reached a collaboration agreement with Calit2, the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, based at UCSD and UC Irvine. Under the collaboration agreement, Calit2 will become a provider of specialized expertise to Darkstrand’s business customers on the National Lambda Rail, which transmits data at rates of 10 gigabits per second or faster. The network is a 15,000-mile loop created in 2005 to connect academic research centers and national laboratories in 30 U.S. cities, including San Diego, Seattle, and Boston.