About

NEREN (Northeast Research and Education Network), founded in 2003, is a consortium of non-profit organizations that provide a fiber-optic network connecting and unifying the research and education communities in New York and New England. NEREN securely enables some of the most prestigious universities in the world to explore the global resources that utilize ultra broadband applications.

The NEREN network ties together in-state fiber initiatives effectively creating an e-corridor that links the members not only to one another but also to faciliites throughout the region and globe. The network primarily transports research, academic and healthcare information, but is also intended to allow corporate and government members to form partnerships and collaborations with the region’s, academic, research and healthcare members.

Mission

Today, more than ever, enterprises of all types require communications networking capabilities to sustain a competitive edge, assure advancement, and support our citizens. In the same way that the construction of the U.S. interstate highway system in the last century, and the railroads before them, fundamentally altered interstate commerce, enabled new industries, and bolstered the United States economy, NEREN will foster the development of digital highways, transporting information and ideas, the most valuable resource in today’s economy, throughout the region.

Until the establishment of NEREN, the Northeast region did not have a facilities-based optical network focused on the needs of the Research and Education arena. The absence of such a resource limited access to peer-to-peer collaboration, intellectual investigation, and research funding allocation. Without NEREN, the Northeast’s individually proficient Research and Education communities were limited in their ability to collaborate and explore in the global economy.

Much has been written about the “digital divide” and the impact it is having on our society. It is reasonable to project that similar comparisons will be made about the economic viability of those regions within the country who have deployed an advanced digital infrastructure, and those who have not. One thing the digital age has taught us thus far is that it is difficult to predict all possible uses and benefits of an advanced technology infrastructure. NEREN is one small effort to help ensure that the citizens of the Northeast will be prepared to take advantage of these yet unknown applications when they are developed.

Purpose

NEREN’s purposes are to:

(1) maximize the educational and information exchange potential of communication network resources by developing advanced networking among Members of the Corporation through regional cooperation and collaboration;

(2) pool the ever-expanding body of regional scientific, medical, and educational expertise to support the research, education and healthcare communities; and

(3) extend the benefits of its activities to promote technology transfer, economic and workforce development, and network security for government, the nonprofit community, and the broader society.