The Works of DANTE - Issue 5

Belgian connection to GÉANT2 launched

 BELNET, the Belgian NREN and partner in GÉANT2, has announced its connection to the network. The link came into operation at the end of January, and sees Belgium connected to GÉANT2 at 10 Gbps.That will offer a capacity thousands of times higher than commercial broadband Internet in Belgium.

"We expect that the lightning-fast connection speed will strike a chord with universities and research groups who need permanent, constant and exceptionally high bandwidth to do with as they wish," says Pierre Bruyère, director of BELNET. "We are continuing to invest in highly advanced Internet infrastructure destined to lead to innovative scientific experiments, new applications and revolutions in the way we use the Internet," says Bruyère. "BELNET's key objective, after all, is to pioneer the way forward."

The next generation of Belgium’s national network, called GigaNet2, is currently being designed by BELNET, and will likely enter into production at the beginning of 2007. Like GÉANT2, it will be a hybrid network offering both standard IP and point-to-point connections. More information on BELNET and GigaNet2 can be found at www.belnet.be