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SURF and its subsidiaries
SURF has put out a number of activities to limited companies: SUAA bv, SURFnet bv and SURFdiensten bv.
SURFnet bv
SURFnet bv exploits the SURFnet network, the national computer network for
education and research in the Netherlands. As a national network, SURFnet interconnects
the local networks of the affiliated institutes. In addition, SURFnet provides links with other
domestic and international networks, both research networks and public networks.
SURFnet connects to the Internet, of which it forms part.
Currently, May 1996, the national SURFnet backbone is a 34 Mbit/s IP network, which
will be upgraded to a 622 Mbit/s ATM network by the end of 1997. In 1995 the
international connections have been upgraded from 8 to about 20 Mbit/s: 8 Mbit/s to the
U.S., 2 Mbit/s lines to Janet, Nordunet, EuropaNET and DFN, and a 1.5 Mbit/s
connectionwith CERN in Geneva. With Ebone and others there is peering over a 4 Mbit/s
connection. There are more than two hundred institutes connected to SURFnet with an
estimated number of users close to 200.000. Through SURFnet they can use services like
e-mail, FTP, telnet, Gopher, World Wide Web, etc.
The continued innovation of its services is the core of SURFnet's existence. Work
commissioned by Stichting SURF and self-initiated innovatory projects conducted by
SURFnet are generally concluded by operational services that are funded entirely by the
users.
Research on the ATM technique is carried out in the SURFnet4 project, research on
multimedia network applications in the projects SURF-ACE (Advanced Communications
Environment) and Desire (a European project which is coordinated by SURFnet and funded
by the EC), research on ISDN in the SURF-it project. The innovative projects are mostly
carried out by the universities and other institutes connected to SURFnet. Within the Desire
project there is a collaboration between 22 partners from 8 countries.
The outcome of the innovative projects are made public by publications in paper and
electronic format and by seminars and conferences. The knowledge present within the
SURFnet organisation is available to everyone via the business unit SURFnet Expertise
Centre at commercial rates.
SURFdiensten bv
SURFdiensten deals with concluding licensing agreements with suppliers of software,
hardware, lifeware and information services. As it presents for this purpose the entire sector
higher education and research in the Netherlands, it can obtain exceptionally favourable
terms. Contractparties as SLBdiensten and APS IT-diensten handle the other levels of
education for SURFdiensten. Her own market higher education and research includes about
150 institutions and about 500.000 students and employees.
Institutions can individually choose from the assortment that SURFdiensten has put
together. In this way it is possible, for example, for all staff members and students of an
educational establishement to obtain user rights to popular software for a fraction of the
normal price.
It is apparent that these licenses have been a great succes. It should therefore come as
no suprise that in recent years the assortment offered by SURFdiensten has expanded to
encompass a broad scale of products: from the most of the popular applications and
operating systems to information services delivered on the network or CD-ROM. Even
hardware and instruction manuals are available under license. In total SURFdiensten now
has about 60 license agreemeents.
The entire shareholding of SURFdiensten bv is in hands of the SURF Foundation.
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