CONNECT NEWS
DANTE CELEBRATES
2 0 Y E A R S OF NETWORKING EXCELLENCE
IN JULY, DANTE CELEBRATED ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY
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ounded in 1993 as a not-for-profit organisation to provide a high-speed internet network for the European research community, DANTE has since created four consecutive generations of this network, which we all know and love today as GÉANT! In 2000, the European Commission used GÉANT as an exemplar for networking excellence and began funding similar networks all over the world. Suddenly DANTE became not just a networking and service innovator, but the project manager and coordinator of these very large-scale projects, connecting different world regions to Europe via GÉANT. Neelie Kroes, Vice President of the European Commission, said: “I give my full congratulations to DANTE for 20 years of networking excellence. DANTE's work is essential to the European and global research community. World-class internet networks, through GÉANT and the regional networks it manages, are fundamental to realising the EU’s 2020 vision for the European Research Area, and key to helping us tackle societal challenges such as food and energy security, health and ageing, and environmental protection. DANTE has my full support and well wishes to continue its innovative journey in support of research and education, across Europe and beyond.” DANTE plans, builds and manages these projects on behalf of the European Commission and Europe’s National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), serving Europe (GÉANT), the Mediterranean (EUMEDCONNECT), SubSaharan Africa (AfricaConnect), Central Asia (CAREN) and Europe-China collaboration (ORIENTplus). DANTE also supports R&E networking organisations in Latin America (RedCLARA), Caribbean (CKLN) and Asia-Pacific (TEIN*CC).
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CONNECT ISSUE 12 JULY 2013
TWO DECADES OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION NETWORKING Niels Hersoug and Matthew Scott, Joint DANTE General Managers, said: “Twenty years ago we could never have dreamed that research and education networking would grow to the extent it has today. By enabling people to work together, regardless of location, and to effortlessly exchange huge volumes of data, DANTE’s work is advancing innovation, economic development and productivity in ways that will benefit us all. Be it through advances in climate research, medical developments, food production or high-energy physics; they all rely on the high-speed networks of DANTE and its partners.”