Imagine if scientists and teachers were to call a local telecom provider to get more bandwidth, every time they wanted to launch a new project. This would be a huge waste of both taxpayer money and the time of the people involved. Instead, public research and education institutions have their own data centers, and these are connected through national research and education networks (NRENs).

However, in a globalized society even national networks cannot operate in isolation. Especially not in relatively small nations like the Nordic. Therefore, the NRENs of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden collaborate through NORDUnet.

NORDUnet supplies connectivity between the national networks in the region. Further, as a limited company owned by the five countries, NORDUnet serves as the international arm of the Nordic NRENs. Based on the needs of the Nordic research and education community, NORDUnet will negotiate deals with foreign states or commercial providers to assure international high-speed, high-capacity connections.