en.Wedoany.com Reported - Global operator Sparkle has recently signed three new capacity agreements to expand the coverage of the European research and education network operator GÉANT across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East and North Africa.

The new routes include a link from the UK to Jordan. Sparkle stated that this will enhance connectivity between the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN) point of presence (PoP) in the UK and the flagship international research facility SESAME, promoting cutting-edge research and cross-border collaboration. SESAME is the first synchrotron light source in the region.

Sparkle has also added capacity from France to Egypt, connecting ASREN member the Egyptian National Scientific and Technical Information Network (ENSTINET) to the broader ASREN community and providing access to Europe via GÉANT. Both routes were procured and delivered under the EU co-funded EUMEDplus project, which aims to strengthen digital infrastructure, connectivity, and cooperation between Arab Mediterranean countries and Europe.

On the African continent, Sparkle has provided a new route for the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN), connecting WACREN's recently established Lagos Global Exchange Point (GXP) in Nigeria to the ZAOXI GXP in Cape Town. This route enables WACREN to interconnect with the East and Southern African research and education communities of the UbuntuNet Alliance through two South African National Research and Education Networks (NRENs)—SANReN and TENET. Sparkle noted that this marks the first time African regional research and education networks have interconnected on the continent itself.

Sparkle added that the new WACREN route was made possible through the EU co-funded AfricaConnect3 project, which provides high-performance connectivity for academic and research communities across the continent, implemented jointly by WACREN, ASREN, and the UbuntuNet Alliance with GÉANT.

GÉANT operates the largest network of its kind globally, connecting NRENs across Europe, serving over 50 million users at 10,000 research institutions across Europe, with coverage in more than 110 countries worldwide and a backbone speed of up to 1.6 Tbps. GÉANT and Sparkle have been collaborating since the early 2010s.

Annalisa Bonatti, Vice President of Enterprise Business at Sparkle, stated that the new routes will strengthen connectivity for the global scientific and academic community, highlighting the strategic role of connectivity in driving global scientific progress. "By leveraging our international backbone network, we are helping research and academic communities collaborate across continents, share data, and innovate seamlessly," she added. Bram Peeters, Chief Officer of Network Services at GÉANT, said that researchers and students rely on fast, reliable connectivity to collaborate and access critical resources, and GÉANT is proud to support WACREN, the UbuntuNet Alliance, and ASREN, and to work with Sparkle to strengthen global digital infrastructure. "Our role is to make this possible by working with our international research and education network community," he said.

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