Released by the 10 Gigabit Ethernet Alliance in May 2002, this white paper discusses 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) technology and the development of the forthcoming standard. 10GbE is ten times faster than the current support for one gigabit per second, and it has the potential to be a dominant form of network technology. The report summarizes some of the key similarities and differences between 10GbE and previous Ethernet protocols. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created a task force to define the standard for 10GbE, and the criteria it is using in this process are briefly outlined. Once the information outlined in this document is put into practice, the demand for higher bandwidth should, at least temporarily, be satisfied.