GEANT LIMITED

Their core work

GÉANT operates Europe's backbone network for research and education, connecting over 50 million users across national research and education networks (NRENs) in 40+ countries. They provide high-speed connectivity, authentication and authorization infrastructure (AAI), and shared services that underpin how European researchers access data, computing, and each other. Beyond Europe, they build intercontinental links to Africa and Latin America, making them a critical piece of global research infrastructure.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015-2016), GÉANT focused heavily on expanding global research connectivity — linking African NRENs, building transatlantic submarine cable infrastructure to Latin America, and running their core European network (GN4-1/GN4-2). From 2017 onward, the emphasis shifted decisively toward Open Science infrastructure: FAIR data, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), federated e-infrastructure service management, and interoperability. This mirrors the broader EU policy shift from building connectivity pipes to enabling open, shared research data services on top of them.

GÉANT is transitioning from a network operator to a platform provider for European Open Science, making them a key partner for any project requiring EOSC integration, federated access, or cross-border data sharing.

How they like to work

GÉANT never coordinates H2020 projects themselves but participates as a critical infrastructure provider — the organization that everyone needs in their consortium but that doesn't seek the coordination burden. With 226 unique partners across 61 countries, they operate as a super-hub: almost every major European research infrastructure project includes them. Their frequent role as a third party (5 of 13 projects) suggests they are often brought in for specific technical contributions (network, AAI, services) rather than full consortium membership.

GÉANT has one of the broadest collaboration networks in H2020, with 226 unique partners across 61 countries spanning Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Their network reflects their role as foundational infrastructure — they connect to virtually every major research organization, NREN, and e-infrastructure provider on the continent.

What sets them apart

GÉANT is not a typical company or research institute — it is the organization that operates Europe's research backbone network, making it an irreplaceable infrastructure partner. No other entity offers the combination of pan-European high-speed networking, federated authentication services, and EOSC integration expertise. If your project needs to move data across borders, authenticate researchers from multiple institutions, or plug into European Open Science infrastructure, GÉANT is the partner that makes it technically possible.

Highlights from their portfolio

• GN4-2
  EUR 19.7M — the single largest GÉANT project, operating the core pan-European research and education network connecting 40+ countries.
• EOSC-hub
  Central to building the European Open Science Cloud, integrating services from EGI, EUDAT, and INDIGO-DataCloud into a unified platform.
• BELLA-S1
  Built a submarine cable link between Europe and Latin America for research connectivity — a rare physical infrastructure project with geopolitical significance.