Asia Pacific Advanced Network

What Asia Pacific Advanced Network does

Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) is a not-for-profit association incorporated in Hong Kong as a company limited by guarantee and established in 1997. It operates a high-performance backbone network that interconnects National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) across more than 20 Asia-Pacific member countries and economies, linking them to global R&E networks and reaching an estimated 50 million end users through its members.

APAN's core technical offering is the APAN Backbone Network, which supports IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack routing via OSPFv3, Quality of Service, video conferencing services, ScienceDMZ architecture, and dual-plane DWDM with ROADM technology. Around the backbone it runs a Working Groups Program structured into Application Areas (Agriculture, Medical, Disaster Mitigation) and Technology Areas (Cloud, IoT, Security, IPv6, AI-Driven Networks, HPC/AI), supplemented by bi-annual member meetings, a Fellowship Program, a Grant Program (grants up to $7,500 standard or up to $15,000 with matching), and the PULSE newsletter. Member organisations include AARNet, CERNET, CSTNET, REANNZ, SingAREN, ERNET India, ThaiREN, and the Academia Sinica Grid Center.

APAN's business model is membership-driven: revenue comes from tiered membership fees (Primary/Voting, Associate, Affiliate, Industry) and is supplemented by member contributions and grants, with 10% of the year-end balance allocated to the grant programme. The secretariat is lean and the organisation relies heavily on volunteer-led working groups, which is consistent with a coordination and standards-setting role rather than a commercial operator.

Name

Asia Pacific Advanced Network

Legal name

Asia Pacific Advanced Network Ltd

Website

https://apan.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Short description

APAN is a not-for-profit Hong Kong–incorporated association that operates a high-performance backbone network interconnecting National Research and Education Networks across 20+ Asia-Pacific economies, enabling international research collaboration and serving roughly 50 million end users via its member NRENs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Research and Education Network Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Grants Management Support (Pre/Post-Award, Compliance) (EDAEALAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

EdTech & Digital Learning Policy Research (EDADADAK)

Keywords

• Research network infrastructure
• Academic network services
• High-performance networking
• Education network coordination
• International research collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Peradeniya

HQ country

Sri Lanka

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: APAN operates as a not-for-profit association with membership fees that support organizational activities. The organization sets aside 10% of its end-of-year balance for grant funding approved activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

APAN operates a high-performance backbone network interconnecting the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of more than 20 Asia-Pacific member countries/economies and linking them to peer global research networks such as TEIN/Asi@Connect, GÉANT, and Internet2. Beyond the network itself, APAN delivers coordinated community programs including thematic Working Groups (e.g., Medical, Agriculture, Disaster Mitigation, Cloud, IoT, Security, IPv6, AI-Driven Networks, HPC/AI), semi-annual meetings, a Fellowship Program for early-career researchers, a Grant Program funding regional collaboration projects, and the APAN PULSE community newsletter.

Product overview

Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) is a not-for-profit association that operates both as an organization representing its member National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) and as a high-performance backbone network connecting research and education networks across Asia-Pacific countries. APAN's offerings consist of: the APAN Backbone Network infrastructure connecting members globally; the Working Groups Program providing collaborative forums across Application Areas (Agriculture, Medical, Disaster Mitigation, Identity & Access Management, e-Culture, Open Science) and Technology Areas (Cloud, IoT, Security, IPv6, AI-Driven Networks, Routing, HPC/AI); APAN Meetings (semi-annual conferences rotating among member countries); the Fellowship Program supporting student and researcher participation; the Grant Program funding regional initiatives; and APAN PULSE newsletter. These offerings work together to advance network-enabled research, education, and collaboration across the Asia-Pacific region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• APAN Backbone Network High-performance network backbone that interconnects the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of more than 20 Asia-Pacific member countries/economies and connects them to peer global research networks (TEIN/Asi@Connect, GÉANT, Internet2, Pacific Wave, TransPAC). Supports IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack, OSPFv3 routing, end-to-end Ethernet services with QoS, video conferencing, authentication and authorization, and ScienceDMZ-based high-speed data transfer for member NRENs and their connected universities, research institutes, hospitals, and academic organizations.
• APAN Working Groups Program

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 50 million users connected via member networks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• SOI-ASIAminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Partnership with SOI-ASIA for collaborative activities in research and education networking. MOU signed at APAN59, Japan March 2025.
• Hydro Informatics InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Partnership with Hydro Informatics Institute supporting agricultural and disaster mitigation working groups. MOU signed at APAN59, Japan March 2025.
• APAC IPv6 CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025Partnership with APAC IPv6 Council for IPv6 deployment and promotion. MOU signed February 2025.
• CONNECT2SEA ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership under the CONNECT2SEA Project for research and education networking in Southeast Asia.
• Pacific Rim Applications and Grid Middleware Assembly (PRAGMA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with PRAGMA for grid middleware and applications collaboration across the Pacific Rim.
• Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC)coreTechnology or IntegrationCore partnership with APNIC for Internet number resource management and technical collaboration on network operations and security.
• Internet2coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with Internet2 connecting APAN to North American research and education networks and enabling global R&E collaboration.
• National Institute of Information and Communications Technology of Japan (NICT)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with NICT for Japanese research network technology collaboration and IoT working group activities.
• TEIN*CC (Asi@Connect)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore partnership through TEIN*CC managing the Asi@Connect project providing pan-Asian network connectivity linking over 50 million users and 8000+ research centers.
• Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association (TERENA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with TERENA for European R&E network collaboration and global infrastructure coordination.
• Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with ASREN for Middle East and North Africa region collaboration. MOU signed at APAN59, Japan March 2025.
• Global Ring Network for Advanced Applications Development (GLORIAD)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with GLORIAD for global ring network enabling advanced applications development across research networks.
• Asia & Pacific Internet Association Ltd (APIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with APIA for Asia Pacific Internet association activities and regional collaboration.
• Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition (GODAN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with GODAN supporting open data initiatives in agriculture and nutrition through the Agricultural Working Group.
• Joint Universities Computer Centre (JUCC)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership with JUCC for Hong Kong academic network operations managing HARNET connecting eight government-funded universities.
• Wireless World Research Forum (WWRF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with WWRF for wireless world research collaboration.
• Pacific WavecoreTechnology or IntegrationAssociate member providing Science DMZ, Software Defined Exchange and peering capabilities with 100g backbone spanning Seattle, Sunnyvale and Los Angeles, interconnecting with Internet2 and ESnet.
• TransPAC / Indiana UniversitycoreTechnology or IntegrationAssociate member providing more than two decades of collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region improving networks for research and education, primarily funded by US NSF.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TEIN*CC (Asi@Connect): Coordination center for the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN), providing pan-Asian backbone connectivity that underpins APAN's international reach. Operationally intertwined with APAN but functions as a parallel coordination body for EU-Asia R&E connectivity.
• AfricaConnect / Ubuntunet Alliance: Pan-African R&E network coordination body linking African NRENs and connected to global R&E networks via AfricaConnect. Same regional consortium role as APAN, scaled to a different continent.
• GÉANT: Europe's pan-European R&E network association, operating the GÉANT backbone interconnecting European NRENs. The most directly comparable regional R&E consortium to APAN, with similar governance (association), membership model, and global peering partnerships.
• NORDUNet: Nordic R&E network backbone interconnecting the national NRENs of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Comparable multi-country R&E backbone operator with a mature, long-standing consortium model.
• CANARIE: Canada's national R&E network organization operating the CANARIE backbone. Comparable in mandate (national/regional R&E coordination), governance (not-for-profit), and role in enabling cross-border research collaboration.
• Internet2: US-based non-profit R&E network consortium operating a high-performance backbone connecting American universities and research institutions. Direct functional peer to APAN with the same mandate of federating NRENs and enabling advanced research collaboration.
• RedCLARA: Latin American R&E network consortium federating national NRENs across Central and South America. Operates as a regional backbone with similar non-profit, membership-driven model to APAN.
• ASREN (Arab States Research and Education Network): Regional R&E network association for the Arab states / MENA region, federating national NRENs. Direct peer in scope and model; APAN listed ASREN as a partner in 2025, reflecting the operational comparability.

Regional players

• AARNet (Australia's Academic and Research Network): Australia's national NREN, an APAN member, connecting over one million users at universities, CSIRO, hospitals and schools. Single-country NREN peer rather than regional coordinator, but architecturally and operationally comparable.
• CSTNET (China Science and Technology Network): Chinese national S&T network serving research institutions and universities; an APAN member. Functions as a single-country NREN comparable to other APAN members (AARNet, REANNZ), but operates at national rather than regional scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apan_net
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCTvUPTzBkY2UX5vBka1YQcg
• Facebookfacebook.com/apan.net
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/apan-net

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Asia Pacific Advanced Network