On December 19, 2023, connectivity to and from RedIRIS - the Spanish counterpart of FCCN, a unit of the Foundation for Science and Technology - increased from 10Gbps to 100Gbps. This milestone was achieved through collaboration between the two Iberian entities.

Traffic exchange without connection to third parties

With this increase in capacity, the two networks are now closer than ever, being able to exchange IP traffic with greater capacity, speed and quality. A direct link between the two Iberian NRENs (National Research and Education Network) is now possible, without resorting to third-party connections.  

Pedro Lorga, connectivity services manager at the FCCN unit, stresses that "the possibilities of this direct link between the two entities allows them greater independence, so that they don't need to use the Géant connection - the European academic network".  

A more internationally connected RCTS

This development marks another step towards improving the international connectivity of RCTS - Rede Ciência, Tecnologia e Sociedade - with very ambitious plans to take even greater advantage of this new capacity in the future.  

RCTS is the national research and education network, also known internationally as NREN (National Research and Education Network). Managed and operated by the FCCN unit of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), RCTS offers researchers, teachers and students a high-performance digital infrastructure that supports the connectivity of the projects they develop at national and international level. 

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