Media release

International connectivity

“REANNZ warmly welcomes the Government’s initiative to invest in additional international telecommunications capacity to meet the future needs of the research and education sector. This will provide a step-change in opportunities for the KAREN community to collaborate and innovate”, said Donald Clark, REANNZ Chief Executive, today after the Government budget announcements.

“As one of New Zealand’s biggest users of international bandwidth, support for additional capacity, resilience, and increased value is welcomed. We look forward to working with the government agencies and supplier community to achieve these outcomes” says Donald Clark.

KAREN, the Kiwi Advanced Research and Education Network, enables New Zealand science and innovation to play its full part on the global stage. In modern science, access to the right people, data and equipment is essential, irrespective of where those assets may physically be. KAREN delivers location independence to New Zealand’s research teams.

Already KAREN has enabled New Zealand researchers to participate in a major international sheep genome project with Australia and the USA by being able to host databases and expertise here. KAREN is also enabling improved regional decision making on environmental hazards by allowing data from multiple sources and the expertise from different research bodies to be combined easily.

Currently, KAREN’s international links are significantly smaller than its national network. This has to-date limited research activities such as high-performance grid computing, astronomy and high-end genomics. A step change in the capacity of KAREN’s international links will provide new opportunities for New Zealand institutions to access international science funding, get more value out of national investment in science and increase the profile of Kiwi innovation internationally.

Broadband boost 

KAREN has a mandate to connect all the schools and Institutes of Technology and Polytechnics (ITPs) in New Zealand.  Some early adopters have already connected to KAREN and are experiencing the benefits of sharing scarce teaching expertise around the country and internationally.

“It is immensely encouraging to see the Government investing more in, and getting greater leverage out of, broadband and ICT spend in our schools. REANNZ is continuing to work with closely with related government agencies to that we can switch on the digital generation that will underpin the future economy of New Zealand.”

Contact 

For more information contact Julie Watson, mobile 021 674 954 or email julie.watson@reannz.co.nz