| Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | DANTE |
| Formation | 5 July 1993 |
| Purpose/focus | Research and education network operation |
| Headquarters | Cambridge, United Kingdom |
| Region served | Europe |
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe (DANTE) is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions. It was established 5 July 1993 as a limited liability company owned by Réseaux Associés pour la Recherche Européenne (RARE).[1][2] Ownership was transferred to a number of NRENs in 1994[3] and government agencies, and is based in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
The members are Consortium GARR (Italy) 14%, DFN e.V. (Germany) 14%, HEFCE (United Kingdom) 14%, RENATER (France) 14%, SURFnet (The Netherlands) 9%, SWITCH (Switzerland) 9%, NORDUnet (Scandinavia) 7%, CSIC (Spain) 5%, ARNES (Slovenia) 2%, CESNET (Czech Republic) 2%, FCCN (Portugal) 2%, HUNGARNET (Hungary) 2%, HEAnet (Ireland) 2%, Ariadnet (Greece) 2%, and RESTENA (Luxembourg) 2%.
DANTE currently operates the GÉANT2 pan-European backbone network,[4] and previously operated the earlier generation EuropaNET, TEN-34, and TEN-155 networks. It also provides connections to Abilene (United States), ESnet (United States), CA*net4 (Canada), APAN (Asia-Pacific), RedCLARA (Latin America), ERNET (India), TENET (South Africa), and a number of Mediterranean Region countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey).