BELNET (Belgian National Research and Education Network) is the national research and education network (NREN) of Belgium. It provides high‑speed data communication services, networking infrastructure, and a range of information‑technology services to the Belgian research, higher‑education, and scientific community, as well as to related public institutions.
Organisation and Governance
BELNET is operated as a public service under the authority of the Belgian Federal Public Service for Science Policy. It functions as an autonomous entity responsible for the deployment, operation, and maintenance of the national research‑and‑education network. Governance is exercised by a board that includes representatives of the federal government, academic institutions, and research organisations.
Network Infrastructure
The BELNET network consists of a multi‑gigabit backbone that interconnects universities, colleges, research institutes, libraries, hospitals, and other authorised entities across Belgium. The backbone is based on fiber‑optic links and incorporates redundant paths to ensure high availability. BELNET is integrated into the pan‑European research network GÉANT, providing its users with seamless access to international research collaborations and services.
Core Services
| Service | Description |
|---|---|
| Internet Connectivity | High‑capacity broadband access for research and education institutions, with dedicated peering and traffic engineering to support large scientific data transfers. |
| Identity and Authentication | Operation of federated identity management (e.g., Shibboleth, eduGAIN) enabling single‑sign‑on across participating services. |
| Cloud and Virtualisation | Provision of cloud‑computing resources, virtual machines, and storage for research projects and educational use. |
| Security Services | Hosting of national certificate authority for research and education, intrusion detection, and distributed denial‑of‑service (DDoS) mitigation. |
| Collaboration Tools | Video‑conferencing platforms, collaborative workspaces, and e‑learning environments. |
| Eduroam | Support for the eduroam roaming service, allowing users to obtain network access at participating institutions worldwide with a single credential. |
| Domain Name Services | Management of DNS infrastructure for the Belgian research‑and‑education community, including support for the national top‑level domain .be. |
International Collaboration
Through its membership in the GÉANT Association and participation in the European research and education networking community, BELNET contributes to cross‑border projects, joint infrastructure development, and the operation of trans‑national services such as eduroam, eduGAIN, and the European Open Science Cloud.
History
BELNET was established in the early 1990s (1993) as a collaborative project to provide dedicated networking for Belgian academia. It later evolved into a formal public service entity, expanding its scope to encompass a broad portfolio of ICT services for the national research and education sector.
Legal and Funding Framework
The operation of BELNET is funded principally by the Belgian federal budget, with additional contributions from participating institutions. Its legal mandate includes ensuring equal and affordable access to high‑performance networking for all eligible users in Belgium.
See also
- GÉANT (European research and education network)
- Eduroam
- eduGAIN
- National research and education networks (NRENs)
References
- Federal Public Service for Science Policy – Official publications on BELNET.
- GÉANT Association – Member profiles.
- BELNET annual reports (available on the BELNET website).
