EU-Asia Project Launched to Develop Asian Research Networking
Press Release
TEIN2 project aims to build Asian and Euro-Asian Internet connectivity
Cambridge, UK, 18 May 2004 – DANTE “Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe” is pleased to announce that it has been contracted by the European Commission to lead a new research networking project to be known as TEIN2. It builds on the existing Trans-Eurasia Information Network initiative of the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) partners.
TEIN2 will increase access between the successful GÉANT European backbone research and education network and the many research networks in Asia, and will provide particular help to the research networks of developing countries in South East Asia.
Research and education networking at regional level is well established and organised in Europe, via the GÉANT network. There are already research networks in most Asian countries, which cover the full spectrum from starting up to some of the most highly advanced in the world. TEIN2 will increase the development of intra-regional connectivity for the research networks of developing countries in South East Asia and also increase the connectivity as a whole between Europe and Asia. This would stimulate the integration of developing Asian countries into the Information Society, support cohesion and collaboration in the region, and increase direct co-operation between Europe and Asia in the field of research and education. The initiative is part of the European Commission’s Asia strategy to strengthen bilateral economic relations between the EU and Asia.
Regional networks such as GÉANT benefit their participants due to the economies of scale involved, which would not be available with bilateral connections between the scientific communities in individual countries. Similarly, TEIN2 will provide a cost-effective means of sourcing and operating connectivity to the benefit of its numerous participants simultaneously. It will also increase dedicated connectivity for researchers to collaborate between Europe and Asia, rather than having to rely on the commercial Internet as at present.
The European Commission’s EuropeAid Cooperation Office is contributing up to 10 million Euro towards the costs of connecting the developing countries of South East Asia that are participating in TEIN2. Additional funding will be provided by other project participants.
The Asian ASEM Member States are: Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The European organisations participating in TEIN2 are RENATER, SURFnet and UKERNA, the NRENs of France, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom respectively, together with DANTE as project co-ordinator.
In the project, the European NRENs and partners from developed Asian countries will combine their experience and expertise in operating successful national research and education networks and in expanding international collaborations. DANTE has a strong track record of building and operating successive generations of pan-European research and education networks. It is currently managing or contributing to initiatives to develop research networking in Latin America, the Balkans and the Mediterranean region, and to provide connectivity to GÉANT for these regions, making it the ideal co-ordinating partner for TEIN2.
The initiative follows on from the successful research networking connection between France and South Korea, which has been operational since November 2001. Some 250 institutions worldwide collaborate in joint research projects with Korean researchers using this link.
Tomaz Kalin, DANTE General Manager, said, “TEIN2 is an important step for the development of research networking in Asia, and will also further GÉANT’s global connectivity. The successful European research networking model is once again being used as a blueprint for development of research networking around the world – the benefits of GÉANT are spreading. I am very pleased that with TEIN2 we are building strong physical and human research networking foundations between Europe and Asia for the years to come.”
The project will proceed in two phases from 2004 to 2007. The first – feasibility - phase will study the technical, commercial and institutional feasibility of TEIN2. Subject to a successful outcome of this phase, the implementation phase will consist of the procurement, delivery and operation of TEIN2 networking infrastructure.
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About DANTE:
DANTE's name derives from the acronym ‘Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe’. Owned by European NRENs (National Research and Education Networks), it is an organisation whose purpose is to plan, build and operate pan-European networks for research and education. Working in partnership with Europe's NRENs and in cooperation with the European Commission, DANTE has been fundamental to the success of European research and education networking over the last decade, providing the data communications infrastructure essential to the success of many research projects in Europe today.
About GÉANT:
Reaching over 3,500 research and education institutions in 32 European countries through its direct connection to 28 National and Regional Research and Education Networks (NRENs), and also offering high-speed international connectivity to other world regions, GÉANT provides the highest capacity and offers the greatest geographic coverage of any network of its kind in the world. Enabling researchers to compete on an international stage by providing them with a world-class backbone that offers the bandwidth and services required for research activities at this level, GÉANT has dual roles of providing an infrastructure to support research and education, as well as providing an infrastructure for research itself.
GÉANT is a project co-funded by the European Commission under the Fifth Research & Development Framework Programme. The project partners are 26 European NRENs, together with DANTE as the co-ordinating partner.
Further information about TEIN2, DANTE and GÉANT can be found at http://www.dante.net
Information about the Trans-Eurasia Information Network can be found at http://www.transeurasia.org
For further information, please contact:
Dale Robertson
press@dante.org.uk
Tel: +44 1223 302 992
Fax: +44 1223 303 005
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