Scientific and academic research places very high demands on communications network infrastructure. Research and education networks transport vast amounts of data. Therefore, networks that serve the needs of universities and research agencies must provide the highest possible transport speeds with negligible downtime, while offering the necessary flexibility and scalability in response to growing and changing requirements.

Jisc, a provider of digital solutions for the UK research and education community, provides universities and colleges with shared digital infrastructure and services, including the superfast Janet network. To better serve its needs, GTT Communications, Inc. (NYSE: GTT), it was recently announced, will deliver high-speed internet services to the Janet network to support the innovation, research and education of its approximately 18 million UK college and university users.

GTT’s resilient internet connectivity solution for Jisc guarantees ultra-high network availability, interconnecting via three geographically separated Points of Presence (PoPs). GTT’s initial service agreement with Jisc provides up to 120 Gbps of internet capacity with the opportunity to further upgrade the service as Jisc’s user demand increases. The Janet network, which is regarded as mission-critical to the UK’s knowledge economy, is also the UK operator for eduroam, the international roaming service for the education community that serves more than 70 million users globally.

GTT delivers internet services over its Tier 1 global IP backbone, which is ranked in the top five worldwide. With more than 300 points of presence, GTT provides flexible, high-capacity cloud networking services to the world’s largest organizations.

“GTT is committed to connecting people and organizations around the world,” stated Martin Ford, GTT division president, EMEA, about the announcement. “We are pleased to enhance the collaboration of Jisc’s users through high-performance internet connectivity and look forward to further supporting Jisc as their geographic and service requirements expand.”

Jisc technologies executive director, Tim Kid, also commented on the organization’s pact with GTT.

“GTT is an ideal partner for Jisc, providing us with the comprehensive global network reach, scalability and flexibility that we require as we grow,” remarked Mr. Kidd. “We look forward to future collaboration to power UK higher education and digital transformation.”

To learn more about GTT, click here.