Wide-scale collaboration and data sharing have become essential features of research communities around the world. In Iceland, the backbone of academic digital communication is RHnet, the national educational and research network. Created to foster advanced connectivity and serve as a gateway to international networks, RHnet links acknowledged institutions of higher learning and research across the country.
A network founded on collaboration
RHnet emerged at a time when Iceland’s academic institutions needed a reliable, dedicated computer network that could support the growing demands of digital communication and high-speed internet. While individual universities had maintained their own links, a critical moment came in February 2000. At that time, closure of key connections between the University of Iceland and the international research network NORDUnet prompted Icelandic institutions to seek a new, unified solution.
In response, NORDUnet, a key Northern European research network, started the process of establishing a far higher-capacity connection for Iceland. By October 2000, a 45 Mbit/s link was established between Iceland and Denmark (via UNI-C). This move enabled all Icelandic universities and research institutes to share fast, international digital communication resources.
Uniting Icelandic academia
On January 24, 2001, RHnet was formally founded as a limited company with a clear mission: exclusively serve recognized Icelandic research and higher education institutes. RHnet provides communications infrastructure for a community that ranges from universities in Reykjavík and Akureyri to national research bodies and even highly specialised institutes, such as the Nordic Volcanological Institute and the National Energy Authority.
The list of RHnet’s founders reflects this broad ambition. It includes the country’s major universities, the University of Iceland, Reykjavík University, the University of Akureyri, and others, as well as institutions focused on the arts, business, agriculture, fisheries, horticulture, construction, energy and marine research. Crucially, RHnet makes no distinction between basic and applied sciences, provided an institute enjoys official recognition.
This principle of inclusivity and exclusive service has meant that from the beginning, RHnet was intended as an internal network strengthening connections within the Icelandic research community while facilitating access to the rest of the world. Today, RHnet is a pivotal part of daily academic life in Iceland, underpinning everything from collaborative international projects to the secure exchange of sensitive scientific data.
