BelWü

What BelWü does

BelWü (Baden-Württembergs extended LAN) is the state higher education network of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, operating as a cross-university service unit (hochschulübergreifende Betriebseinheit) under § 6 Abs. 4 of the State Higher Education Act (LHG). It is anchored at the Universität Stuttgart and serves as the dedicated network service provider for all state universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg. The organization provides a high-performance backbone network infrastructure using DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) at 100 Gbit/s capacity, with multiple Points of Presence across the state including Stuttgart, Tübingen, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Mannheim, Heidelberg, Ulm, and Konstanz.

The service portfolio spans core network connectivity (internet access, point-to-point links), infrastructure services (authoritative DNSSEC-enabled DNS, NTP time synchronization, domain registration, LIR/IP address allocation), and ancillary digital services (file transfer via F*EX, emergency server hosting, DDoS protection and abuse handling, and LVN state-administration network VPN access). The technical scope includes the bwNet100G+ research platform — a flexible Software Defined Networking testbed established with Universität Tübingen, KIT, and Universität Ulm, covering SDN, TCP optimization for 100G, and high-performance security/IDS. Several legacy services (Moodle hosting for schools, web hosting, youth protection filter, mail services) have been or are being phased out, with Moodle discontinued in June 2024 and the youth protection filter at end-2024.

The business model is non-commercial and publicly funded: services are provided at cost or subsidized rates to academic institutions under a statutory mandate, with pricing published via a Preisliste and billed annually. There is no private ownership, venture funding, or external investor base; BelWü is governed collectively by the state universities and operates with a small team (1–10 employees) embedded within the Universität Stuttgart. The mandate is regional (Baden-Württemberg only), with peering relationships extending reach to international academic networks such as SWITCH in Switzerland and CERN via KIT.

Name

BelWü

Legal name

BelWü-Koordination, Universität Stuttgart

Website

https://belwue.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BelWü is the state higher education network of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, providing 100G backbone connectivity and digital infrastructure services (DNS, NTP, security, file transfer) to all state universities and colleges under a statutory mandate anchored at Universität Stuttgart.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stuttgart

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations

Revenue model

1. Network Services: BelWü provides high-performance network connectivity services to state universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg. The network services include internet connectivity, point-to-point connections, and managed network infrastructure. As a publicly funded state higher education network, services are provided at cost or subsidized rates for academic institutions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

BelWü operates the Landeshochschulnetz Baden-Württemberg, a state university network providing a high-performance, resilient fiber-optic backbone connecting state universities and colleges across Baden-Württemberg. It delivers internet access, point-to-point connections, DNS, NTP, mail, web hosting, security, domain registration, and LIR services to participating academic institutions under a state-mandated framework.

Product overview

BelWü (Baden-Württembergs extended LAN) is a service provider offering a unified platform of network infrastructure and digital services for state universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg. Its core offering is a high-performance backbone network connecting academic institutions. The platform comprises the core network service supplemented by internet connectivity, point-to-point connections, NTP time servers, email services (being discontinued), authoritative DNS services, domain management, state administration network (LVN) VPN access, file transfer (F*EX), emergency server hosting, LIR/IP address services, and network security services. BelWü formerly provided Moodle hosting and web hosting for schools, both of which have been discontinued. The services are governed through the BelWü-Koordination headquartered at Universität Stuttgart.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hochleistungsnetzwerk (High-Performance Network) A high-performance, resilient, and cost-efficient fiber-optic backbone network connecting state universities and colleges in Baden-Württemberg, designed for academic research, HPC, and data-intensive applications.
• Internetanschluss (Internet Connection) Internet connectivity service providing external network access for BelWü participants (state universities and colleges).
• Punkt-zu-Punkt-Verbindung (Point-to-Point Connection) Dedicated point-to-point network connection service between two sites, typically used for inter-institutional links.
• Timeserver (NTP Time Server) Network Time Protocol (NTP) time synchronization servers (ntp1, ntp2, ntp3.belwue.de) for participants.
• Nameserver (DNS Services) Authoritative DNS server services including dns1, dns2, dns3, dns4.belwue.de with DNSSEC-enabled infrastructure.
• LVN-Zugang (State Administration Network Access) VPN-based access to the Landesverwaltungsnetz (state administration network) for public administration bodies.
• Filetransfer (F*EX) File exchange service via F*EX (fex.belwue.de) enabling large file transfers for participants.
• Notfall-Server (Emergency Server) Emergency server hosting services providing continuity infrastructure for participants.
• Local Internet Registry (LIR) LIR services for IP address allocation and management for participant organizations.
• Security-Dienste (Security Services) Network security services including DDoS protection, abuse handling, and security concepts for high-performance networks.
• Anschluss an das BelWü (BelWü Connection) Network connection service for institutions to join the BelWü backbone infrastructure.
• Domains Domain registration and management services for .belwue.de and related academic domains.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100 Gbit/s network capacity (10x increase from 10 Gbit/s)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Universität Tübingen (Kommunikationsnetze, ZDV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in bwNet100G+ project focusing on Software Defined Networking (SDN) and flexible network operations for high-performance academic networks. Contact: Mark Schmidt.
• Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) - Institut für TelematikcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in bwNet100G+ project focusing on data transport in high-performance networks, particularly TCP optimization for large bandwidth-delay products in 100G networks. Contact: Mario Hock.
• Universität Ulm - Institut für Verteilte SystemecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in bwNet100G+ project focusing on security concepts for high-performance networks including Intrusion Detection Systems adaptation and SDN-based security. Contact: Thomas Lukaseder.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• DFN-Verein (Deutsches Forschungsnetz): Operator of the German national research and education network (X-WiN), serving universities and research institutions across Germany. Directly comparable as a publicly funded NREN providing high-performance backbone connectivity to academic institutions, the same role BelWü plays at the Baden-Württemberg state level.
• SWITCH: Swiss education and research network operator providing connectivity and ICT services to Swiss universities. Already named as a peering partner of BelWü, it is directly comparable as a publicly funded NREN operating high-performance backbone services for higher education and research.

Others

• RENATER: French national research and education network serving French universities and research institutions. Comparable as a publicly funded national NREN providing high-performance backbone and managed services analogous to BelWü's role for Baden-Württemberg.

Broad incumbents

• Internet2: US-based nonprofit computer networking consortium serving research and education communities. Comparable as a publicly funded, mission-driven NREN providing high-performance backbone and identity/cloud services to universities and research institutions.
• GÉANT: Pan-European research and education networking organization interconnecting Europe's national NRENs. Comparable as the umbrella/backbone network for European academic networking, of which BelWü is effectively a regional member via its SWITCH and CERN peerings.
• JISC: UK digital, data and technology agency for higher education and research. Comparable as a publicly funded organization providing shared digital infrastructure (including the Janet network) and managed services to universities, paralleling BelWü's role.
• SURF: Dutch cooperative of educational and research institutions providing high-performance networking and ICT services. Comparable as a publicly funded research network operator delivering backbone and managed services to higher education institutions, similar to BelWü.

Emerging players

• RedIRIS: Spanish academic and research network providing advanced communication services to the Spanish research and education community. Comparable as a publicly funded NREN delivering high-performance connectivity and ancillary services to universities, similar to BelWü.
• CESNET: Czech NREN operator developing and operating the national e-infrastructure for research and education. Comparable as a publicly funded NREN providing high-capacity backbone and computational/data services to universities and research institutions, in a similar role to BelWü.

Regional players

• ACOnet: Austrian Academic Computer Network operating the national research and education network for Austrian universities. Comparable as a publicly funded NREN providing high-performance connectivity to academic institutions in a single country, similar to BelWü at the state level.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/belwue

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BelWü