A Research and Education Network is a communications system relying on very high speed optical transmission infrastructure linking 'interconnect points'.

Another way to think about an R & E Network is a very high speed Internet. The network supports data transfer at the gigabit speeds required for advanced research.

They enable people working in research, innovation and education to collaborate and share information and resources.

They support online collaboration by enabling simultaneous sharing and interaction of data, voice, high quality video and other media across multiple locations.  This opens up new opportunities in remote teaching and learning.

They also play an important economic development role in supporting the innovation process in the pre-commercial development and collaboration phases. 

The use of R & E Networks, as the name suggests, is generally limited to pre-commercial innovation activity and to the research and education sectors. 

Related information

• Research and Education Network uses
• Why Research and Education Networks exist
• Research and Education Network glossary