What is an NREN?
An NREN is a specialised internet service provider built specifically to serve universities, research institutes, and academic communities within their country. Unlike commercial internet providers, NRENs are designed around the unique demands of research and education: high-speed connectivity, trusted collaboration environments, and access to international scientific infrastructure. Across the GÉANT region, NRENs provide connectivity and services to more than 80% of all university-level students, as well as researchers, educators, and campus staff.
What NRENs provide
The primary focus of NRENs is to provide universities and research institutes with high-quality network connectivity and related services by connecting campuses and institutions to each other, and to the rest of the internet. Many NRENs go beyond this by also connecting schools, institutes of further education, libraries, museums, hospitals and other public service institutions.
Most NRENs also specialise in providing expertise and support in a range of other technologies and service areas, such as identity and trust management, security, storage, and collaboration. These may be bespoke to an NREN or part of a pan-European service offered by many NRENs in the GÉANT collaboration but delivered in a federated manner.
NRENs and GÉANT
NRENs are both members and building blocks of the GÉANT Association. Together, we form a collaborative network that spans across Europe and connects institutions worldwide. GÉANT provides the pan-European backbone and coordinates shared services, while each NREN delivers these capabilities at national level, adapting them to their local context.
This collaboration model ensures both scale and relevance: global reach with national expertise.
