Overview
The NI Regional Area Network is the broadband computer network for the tertiary education and public sector in Northern Ireland. It is operated by NIRAN Limited, a company limited by guarantee and jointly owned by its core members, three Higher Education Institutions and six Further Education College. The NIRAN network is one of some eighteen regional computer networks in the UK which, together, comprise the Joint Academic Network (JANET), the UK’s national education networks. The network connects its members to each other and the Internet.
Membership
The NIRAN network delivers high-speed bandwidths to thirty education and public sector institutions across the region. Whilst its core membership lies in higher and further education, NIRAN can also provide Internet connectivity to a broader range of customer including libraries, local authorities, and lifelong learning organisations. To this end, NIRAN now has ten such public sector organisations connected in Northern Ireland, including five Local Councils.

Bandwidths
The current network infrastructure became operational in October 2004 on schedule and within budget, delivering a true high-speed broadband network – with minimum speeds of 10M, rising to 34M, and 1000M – to its member institutions. NIRAN has dual 2.5G resilient Internet links with automatic failover and a 1G interconnection to the RoI education network called HEAnet.

Management
A Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the operation of NIRAN Limited, including decisions on future developments and the range of services provided, and the financial performance of the company. The Board consists of very senior staff from the nine core member sites of Higher and Further Education institutions. Supporting the Board is a Management Committee consisting of representatives from all the member institutions.The Board and Management committees meet quarterly.

The NIRAN Freedom of Information Act document may be viewed at NIRAN Publication Scheme.