GARR is the ultra-broadband network dedicated to the Italian research and education community. Its mission is to provide high-performance connectivity and develop innovative services to support the daily activities of researchers, professors, and students, while fostering international collaboration.

The GARR network is designed and managed by the Consortium GARR, a non-profit association founded under the auspices of the Ministry of University and Research (MUR). Its members include CNR, ENEA, CRUI Foundation, INAF, INFN, INGV, Italian public universities, Scientific Research Hospitals (IRCCS), and Animal Health and Food Safety Institutes (IZS).

GARR provides its community with a wide range of services, some closely linked to network management and expansion, and others more focused on end-user network utilisation.

To learn more about GARR services, see the web page.

OPTICAL FIBRE FOR MILLIONS OF USERS

GARR network is an extensive digital infrastructure with about 22,000 km of optical fibre covering the entire national territory. It connects more than 1,000 sites, most of which are public institutions, including research organisations, universities, research hospitals, cultural institutes, libraries, museums, and schools, serving approximately 3 million users.

INTERNATIONAL CONNECTIONS

GARR network is interconnected with international research networks and the global Internet, enabling researchers, regardless of geographic location, to exchange data and content, access scientific computing resources, and use cloud-based applications. GARR is an integral part of the European research network GÉANT, which it co-owns with other European NRENs. It actively contributes to international initiatives and standard-setting bodies, including the IETF, RIPE, the Internet Society, and e-IRG.

GARR AND EUROPEAN INITIATIVES

Through its involvement in the GÉANT Association, GARR contributes to European initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and the European Data Spaces. GARR supports ICSC – the National Centre for Research in High Performance Computing, Big Data and Quantum Computing – as Italy’s national EOSC node, one of the first 13 nodes selected to create the EOSC Federation. From 2022 to 2025, GARR coordinated the European project Skills4EOSC, strengthening FAIR-by-Design training and capacity-building for Open Science across Europe.