Funding
The ORIENTplus link is jointly funded and operated by European research and education networking organisation GÉANT and its Chinese counterpart CERNET (China Education and Research Network).
Operational since the end of July 2015, the circuit is contracted for a 10 year term and financed 50:50 by Europe and China. With costs of less than 4 cents per user over its lifespan, it represents substantial cost savings compared to the previous links, and thus a cost-effective solution for inter-regional collaboration.
As part of the GÉANT 2020 Framework Partnership Agreement (FPA), ORIENTplus receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 731122 (GN4-2).
CERNET receives its funding from the Chinese Government.