2. Connected Users

The second chapter examines who the NRENs actually serve. Connected institutions span universities, research institutes, government organisations, schools and colleges, and a smaller "others

Compare wavesall waves · 3 figures

The second chapter examines who the NRENs actually serve. Connected institutions span universities, research institutes, government organisations, schools and colleges, and a smaller "others" category. Across the consistent panel of 15 NRENs that reported in all three waves, the community has grown its non-school connections from 3,252 in 2018 to 3,920 in 2025 — a roughly 21% expansion driven primarily by Universities (which dipped slightly in 2020 before recovering strongly), Research Institutes (which grew nearly five-fold from 23 to 110), and Government Orgs (which grew from 183 to 272).

FIG 2.1

Connected institutions by sector, excluding schools

Consistent panel of 14 NRENs reporting in all three waves.

Waves

Connected Institutions by sector, excluding Schools/Colleges, across the consistent reporting panel of NRENs.

2018	2,658 institutions	19 institutions	182 institutions	385 institutions
2020	2,489 institutions	60 institutions	247 institutions	276 institutions
2025	3,127 institutions	106 institutions	271 institutions	411 institutions

Panel: 14 NRENs reporting in all selected waves

Figure 2.1. Connected Institutions by sector, excluding Schools/Colleges, across the consistent reporting panel of NRENs.

Source · Asi@Connect survey 2025

Schools and Colleges connections are shown in a dedicated chart below. ThaiREN's school-system connections (~10,000) so dominate the community total that it warrants its own panel — while a smaller but growing cluster of NRENs (ErdemNET, DrukREN, CERNET, MYREN, BdREN, PERN) have started connecting their own school systems since 2020.

FIG 2.2

Connected schools and colleges by NREN

Connected Schools & Colleges by NREN. ThaiREN operates at a different scale from the rest of the community and is shown on its own panel.

ThaiREN	10,359 institutions
ErdemNET	600 institutions
DrukREN	241 institutions
CERNET	160 institutions
MYREN	142 institutions
BdREN	64 institutions
PERN	50 institutions
LEARN	20 institutions
NREN	13 institutions
PREGINET	10 institutions
IDREN	5 institutions
CamREN	1 institutions
SingAREN	1 institutions

Panel: 13 NRENs reporting in 2025

Figure 2.2. Connected Schools & Colleges by NREN. ThaiREN operates at a different scale from the rest of the community and is shown on its own panel.

Source · Asi@Connect survey 2025

Stripping out schools and colleges exposes each NREN’s underlying institutional base. CERNET dominates on sheer scale — 2,444 connections, almost entirely universities — and PERN is similarly university-led, while the composition varies sharply elsewhere: PREGINET’s base is overwhelmingly government organisations, DrukREN leans heavily on research institutes, and networks such as KOREN and REANNZ show a more even spread across all four sectors.

FIG 2.3

Connected institutions by NREN and sector, 2025

Connected institutions by NREN in 2025 by sector, excluding Schools/Colleges — Universities, Research Institutes, Government Organisations and Others.

CERNET	2,312 institutions	15 institutions	105 institutions	12 institutions
ThaiREN	228 institutions	10 institutions	10 institutions	165 institutions
PERN	260 institutions	5 institutions	–	125 institutions
PREGINET	20 institutions	3 institutions	120 institutions	10 institutions
IDREN	100 institutions	1 institutions	1 institutions	1 institutions
KOREN	26 institutions	9 institutions	22 institutions	39 institutions
BdREN	68 institutions	8 institutions	5 institutions	12 institutions
DrukREN	2 institutions	40 institutions	0 institutions	28 institutions
MYREN	55 institutions	–	4 institutions	9 institutions
REANNZ	8 institutions	3 institutions	5 institutions	23 institutions
LEARN	26 institutions	6 institutions	2 institutions	2 institutions
NREN	9 institutions	6 institutions	–	6 institutions
CamREN	7 institutions	1 institutions	1 institutions	2 institutions
HARNET	10 institutions	–	1 institutions	–
ErdemNET	5 institutions	1 institutions	3 institutions	1 institutions
SingAREN	4 institutions	2 institutions	–	–
MAFFIN	–	4 institutions	1 institutions	–

Panel: 17 NRENs reporting in 2025

Figure 2.3. Connected institutions by NREN in 2025 by sector, excluding Schools/Colleges — Universities, Research Institutes, Government Organisations and Others.

Source · Asi@Connect survey 2025

NREN Spotlight · Building national school connectivity

DrukREN Bhutan

As of today, DrukREN has connected around 195 schools across Bhutan, including primary, middle, and higher secondary schools, expanding from a very limited baseline since 2020 to near nationwide coverage. This expansion has been driven by the Royal Government of Bhutan’s strong commitment to equitable access to digital education and reducing the rural–urban digital divide, in line with national development priorities. The policy direction and funding support were enabled through the government, with DrukREN positioned as the national platform for research and education connectivity. Close coordination with the Ministry of Education and Skills Development and other stakeholders ensured alignment with Bhutan’s ICT and education strategies. Operationally, DrukREN implemented a phased and centrally coordinated rollout approach. Schools were onboarded in batches using standardised network designs, supported by structured site readiness processes, coordinated installation, and collaboration with local education authorities. Capacity building for school ICT focal points and ongoing technical support have been essential to ensure effective adoption and sustained use of services. This experience highlights that Bhutan’s school connectivity scale-up has been enabled by strong government leadership, coordinated implementation, and a practical, scalable rollout model adapted to the country’s geography and dispersed school system.

NREN Spotlight · Building national school connectivity

BdREN Bangladesh

Contributed by Imranur Rahman, Assistant Manager – Sales, BdREN

Beyond the Campus Gate: Connecting Bangladesh's Colleges

Bangladesh Research and Education Network (BdREN) has long been known as the country's National Research and Education Network, linking universities and research institutions to the world. But since 2024, under the College Education Development Project (CEDP), BdREN has taken on a quieter, harder mission: bringing dedicated, high-quality internet connectivity to government colleges in the country's most underserved corners. Today, 60 colleges across Bangladesh — spanning multiple zones and reaching deep into rural areas — are connected with dedicated bandwidth averaging 50 Mbps each. For institutions that had never had reliable connectivity before, this has opened access to digital classrooms, online academic resources, and administrative systems long taken for granted at the university level.

A story built on struggle

Behind every connected college is a story of persistence. Unlike university campuses, which typically sit near existing fiber infrastructure, most of these colleges are located far from any backbone network, in rural regions where laying fiber means confronting difficult terrain, long distances, and limited local technical support. Unreliable power supply compounded the challenge — network equipment that runs dependably on a university campus often struggles in areas with frequent outages.

Even after a college goes live, the work isn't over. Maintenance has proven an even greater challenge than initial deployment: fiber cuts are common and often far from any technical hub, so fault resolution takes longer than it would in a city; local technicians are scarce; and power instability continues to threaten uptime. These realities led BdREN to plan a new layer of resilience — introducing Starlink satellite connectivity as a redundant backup for these colleges, ensuring that a single point of failure, whether a cut fiber line or a prolonged outage, no longer means a college goes dark.

A mission, not a business line

It is worth being candid about why BdREN does this work at all. Unlike its university services, the college connectivity initiative is not commercially driven — it does not turn a profit, nor does it break even. It exists because BdREN sees digital access for rural colleges as a national responsibility, not a revenue opportunity. In many ways, it functions as BdREN's own grassroots CSR commitment: extending the benefits of research and education networking to communities that would otherwise be left behind by the digital divide.

Staying close to the ground

Connecting a college is only the beginning of the relationship. BdREN's team conducts regular site visits and technical surveys to monitor network health and understand each college's evolving needs. A dedicated point of contact supports colleges when issues arise, and open feedback channels keep improving service on the ground. Small gestures — the occasional token of appreciation — help sustain the goodwill and trust these partnerships depend on.

Capacity building runs alongside connectivity. BdREN has organized several workshops for college faculty and staff, covering both basic digital literacy and practical use of BdREN's academic resources, from e-journals to digital library access — helping ensure that bandwidth translates into real learning outcomes, not just a faster internet connection.

Looking ahead

With 60 colleges connected and lessons learned from every difficult kilometer of fiber and every outage weathered, BdREN's next chapter is about resilience: layering satellite redundancy onto its terrestrial network to make rural connectivity as dependable as the university links it is known for. It is a reminder that an NREN's mission does not end at the campus gate — sometimes the most meaningful work happens well beyond it.

NREN Spotlight · Building national school connectivity

ErdemNET Mongolia

Contributed by Nanjidjamts Jigjidsuren, Chief/Core Engineer (Networking Department), ErdemNET

ErdemNET connects approximately 679 government (state) schools — public schools that the government funds to operate — having grown from a zero baseline in 2020 to around 700 schools today.

5 Upstream ISPs

In 2025

Policy driver: The programme targets the country's government-funded schools, supporting the state's goal of bringing internet connectivity to public education nationwide

Funding model: The connectivity is fully funded by the government — the schools themselves do not pay for the service.

Operational approach to onboarding at scale: ErdemNET delivers the service over its national backbone. Because its own capacity and physical reach are limited relative to ~700 sites spread across the country, ErdemNET partners with the ISP ICN and uses ICN's infrastructure to extend connectivity into the countryside/rural areas. Transport to the schools uses PTN (Packet Transfer Technology): the network initially delivered service over Layer 3 IP MPLS and has since migrated to the newer, faster Layer 2 PTN

Lessons for the community: Partnering with a commercial ISP (ICN) for last-mile reach allowed ErdemNET to scale to hundreds of rural schools without having to build its own fibre everywhere, and migrating from Layer 3 IP MPLS to Layer 2 PTN improved performance for the connected schools.

Chapter 2 · Connected Users