EU helps to fund first pan-Asian research communications network
Research cooperation between partners in Europe and Asia is to receive a massive boost with the creation of TEIN2, the first pan-Asian high-speed telecommunications network for research and education. The Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN) initiative was set up in 2000 to improve network infrastructure between Europe and Asia. In the next phase, TEIN2, the EU's EuropeAid Cooperation Office is contributing 10 million euro towards the cost of connecting the EU's Asian partners to the network. TEIN2 will be directly connected to Europe's GÉANT2 backbone network, thus providing Asian researchers with a gateway to infrastructures for global research collaboration. The success of GÉANT in Europe shows the benefits of such networks for research collaboration, and the EU is keen to transfer this approach in order to stimulate development in other regions of the world. The countries that are eligible to join are Brunei, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. These partners took part in a feasibility study, which examined the current telecoms infrastructure and networking needs of each country. The study clearly highlighted the existence of a digital divide within the region, whereby some countries, such as Korea, already have advanced national networks, whilst in others, such as Thailand and Vietnam, such infrastructures are still in their infancy. It is hoped that TEIN2 will overcome these disparities by providing a cohesive approach to regional networking. Chalermpol Charnsripinyo, spokesperson for the Thai national research and education network, said, 'the current interconnectivity amongst these countries is still insufficient to support research and education activities. The network provided by the TEIN2 project will be able to support current research activities and enhance international research collaboration in the future.' TEIN2 is the latest example of Europe successfully exporting its model for research networking to other parts of the globe, following similar partnerships with Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East through the ALICE and EUMEDCONNECT projects.