Monday, June 13, 2005

Europe's GÉANT2 Builds 500 Gbps Next Gen Research Network

Alcatel's optical gear was selected for GÉANT2, the successor to Europe's current academic research network. GÉANT2, which promises a total network of nearly 500 Gbps, will connect research facilities in thirty-four countries, including major European sites in the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Ireland, Portugal and Greece.


The network will deliver multiple, switched 10Gbps links to its major hubs. It will be managed by the Alcatel 1350 management suite and include the Alcatel 1626 Light Manager DWDM platform for ultra long-haul applications and the 1678 Metro Core Connect (MCC).


Financially, GEANT2 is the result of joint efforts at European and national level. The European Commission contributes EUR 93 million to this project, just under half the total cost. The rest is funded by national research and education networks.


The contract was awarded by DANTE. a non-profit organization whose primary mission is to plan, build and manage research and education networks on behalf of Europe's National Research and Education Networks.


TeliaSonera has been selected as the major carrier to DANTE.
http://www.geant2.nehttp://www.alcatel.com

  • The GÉANT network has been in full production service since December 2001. It replaced the previous TEN-155 network.