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Asi@Connect Project

Asi@Connect provides dedicated high-capacity internet connectivity for research and education communities across Asia-Pacific; operating at speeds of up to 10 Gbps, it currently interconnects universities and research centres in 21 countries/economies across the region. It also connects to the 50 million European researchers and academics served by the GÉANT network and supports collaborative programmes in areas such as Earth observation, disaster warning, climate research, food security, delivery of e-health and e-learning.

Asi@Connect marks the 4th phase of EU funding to the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN)programme which was launched as an Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) initiative in 2001; it successfully established a regional research and education internet network (TEIN) from scratch in 2004 and progressively expanded its geographical footprint over the years. During this new phase, greater emphasis will be placed on delivering the project with increased involvement of additional partners within the Asia-Pacific R&E community.

Asi@Connect aims to fulfill a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through improved access to education and research resources. The project focus is on assistance to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) whilst also providing advanced services to network users and promoting R&E collaborations. Main activities:

The main activities :

  • Network procurement and management
  • Capacity development of NRENs in developing country
  • Research and education network design & operations and associated capacity development
  • Deployment of specialized network products, services and applications and associated capacity development
  • Promoting AsiaConnect-enabled research and education collaboration for societal benefit
  • Helping to bridge the digital divide in the region.

The current project phase, Asi@Connect, is a 60-month project which started on 1 September 2016; the project is jointly funded by the European Union and Asian partners and is managed by TEIN*CC (TEIN*Cooperation Center) based in Seoul, Korea. The Korean Government, the Ministry of Science and ICT, supports the project and TEIN*CC; Seoul Metropolitan City Government has contributed the TEIN*Cooperation Center office, facilities and property management costs. Building on previous TEIN programme project phases, Asi@Connect also aligns to and interacts with other regional R&E network projects and organisations in other parts of the world:

Key facts – AsiaConnect Project (Asi@Connect)

Start date 1 Sep 2016 EU contribution € 20.0 M
Duration 84 months NREN contribution € 16.5 M
Total Budget € 36.5 M
24 Countries/
economies		 Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam
Co-funded By the EU and participating Asian NRENs. The project receives funding from the European Unions under the grant contract ACA 2016/376-562 (Asi@Connect)