The Works of DANTE - Issue 6
New link to Europe for Indian researchers
GÉANT2 has recently implemented the first-ever research and education link to India. Co-funded by the European Commission and Government of India, the new link delivers first time connectivity at speeds of 45 Mbps from Milan to Mumbai. Whilst welcoming India into the global research arena, the link also supports Indian academics in collaborative research with organisations including CERN, Geneva, in the field of high-energy physics.
Co-ordinated by DANTE in Europe and India’s National Education and Research Network, ERNET, the link enables universities and academic and research institutes in India to collaborate on a global level
via the world’s most advanced international research and education network, GÉANT2. The connection is facilitated by Telecom Italia in Milan and VSNL in Mumbai and augments the global GÉANT2 map, which now links all the major continents.
"We have excellent researchers in all parts of the world. That is why the GÉANT2 network, which started in Europe, is now expanding beyond it to bring together the world's best scientific minds, for their mutual benefit and the common good”, said Viviane Reding, Commissioner for the Information Society and Media.
“GÉANT2’s partnership with ERNET is an invaluable step towards the advancement of India’s information society“ commented Dr. Gulshan Rai, Executive Director, ERNET. “With India now able to communicate and share expertise with researchers in Europe and beyond at such high speeds, it is a positive step for India’s integration with the wider research and education community. It will also help prevent the migration of scientists and students from India.”
ERNET’s partnership with GÉANT2 is supported by the EUIndiaGrid initiative, a project that aims to interconnect European Grid infrastructures with related projects in India. The link will also be utilised for collaborative research with CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) connecting European researchers to colleagues at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai. These experiments will generate huge amounts of data which will be quickly transferred between the two continents.
Dai Davies, General Manager, DANTE, said: “This is a hugely important
development for DANTE, GÉANT2 and
for scientific research in general.
India’s affiliation with GÉANT2 will integrate India into the Global Information Society, and complements existing GÉANT2 connectivity from Europe to North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, North Africa, South Africa and the Middle East.”
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