SANReN

SANReN (South African National Research Network) is a project to create a new National Research and Education Network in South Africa. However, unlike most other NRENs, SANReN will provide its clients with both connectivity to the world's research networks as well as commodity Internet access.

In 2005, the South African Department of Science and Technology obtained funding from treasury for a ZAR 365 million, three-year project to build a world-class National Research and Education Network to further the country's research aims. The DST then tasked the Meraka Institute with the planning and deployment of this network, to be completed by the middle of 2010.

An initial Request for Information was published in 2005, followed by two Request for Proposals in 2006. The original proposal called for inter-institution links of up to 500Mbit/s and international bandwidth of 1Gbit/s. Due to budget constraints, the implementation of the network proceeded in phases with a prioritisation of institutions, such as the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory site, that were of particular strategic importance to the South African science initiatives.