The WACREN network connects and interconnects national research and education networks (NRENs) in West and Central Africa.
The affordable, high speed and secured network is aimed at connecting academics, researchers and students to each other and with the rest of their colleagues across the globe, by interconnecting through the pan-European GÉANT network.
As a network that has the potential to serve millions of students and researchers in the vast West and Central African region, we have in place an effective, efficient and scalable backbone technology for operations. The backbone supports the network and capacity demands of our national RENs.
WACREN Network Operation Centre (NOC) is the first point of call for all matters concerning the network and service emanating from it.
Our able engineers work around the clock to ensure the network’s uptime is kept high. They adept at detecting, diagnosing and acting swiftly to resolve network eventuality; they also monitor and upgrade equipment, resources and services in order to give our national RENs and their communities the best possible network performance and service delivery at all times. They also respond to abuse complaints; and coordinate and communicate with third parties for maintenance and repair activities, according to schedule and on-demand.
The maps here give you an idea of where we are when it comes to network expansion.
Co-funded by the European Commission (EC) through the AfricaConnect 2 and AfricaConnect 3 projects, WACREN has connected six countries to high-speed technology, making it the best means for students to access resources, send and receive data and collaborate for knowledge discovery in those countries.
The figure below shows the WACREN Network and the interconnected NRENs as of July 2021.
