€5 million contract awarded to connect Ireland’s education and research sector

HEAnet has awarded a seven year contract worth €5 million to Irish-owned network integrator Agile Networks. The contract will replace HEAnet’s existing network, which connects education and research organisations throughout Ireland. This new network will have 100Gb capacity, making it capable of carrying ultra-high bandwidth traffic.

HEAnet’s e-Infrastructure services underpin education and research activity in Ireland with approximately one million people relying on the HEAnet network each day for their learning and research needs.

Headquartered in Dublin, Agile Networks is the largest independent network integrator in Ireland. It was founded in 2011 to design, build and support IT networks for the private and public sectors.

Following a rigorous public procurement process, Agile Networks were awarded this contract. Their winning network solution utilises state of the art technology from international network manufacturer Juniper Networks, and runs over HEAnet’s existing fibre network in a highly resilient design. The rollout will take place over an eighteen month period to 200 locations nationwide with five years support.

The contract announcement was made at HEAnet’s Head Office in the IFSC. John Boland, HEAnet’s Chief Executive, said: “This investment represents a milestone in HEAnet’s commitment to continuously improve connectivity for our member institutions. Our on-going challenge is to ensure that we provide access to the same sort of Internet connectivity for education and research as anywhere in Europe. We achieve this through the provision of a ultra-high bandwidth, multiple gigabit network, which is dedicated for use solely by our education and research clients.”

Darragh Richardson, Managing Director of Agile Networks, added: “This contract will deliver a nationally significant project and facilitate the rollout of shared ICT services and collaboration within and across the education and research sector. We look forward to working with HEAnet and our partners at Juniper Networks to ensure that Ireland’s reputation as a world-class place to study and develop research is enhanced.”