While COVID-19 presents unprecedented uncertainty, Research and Education Networks (R&E Networks) will play an important role in supporting our campuses and K12 schools as they move online.

Infrastructure usage patterns are already changing greatly from traditional campus learning environments, in part because of the shift of users from purpose-built educational networks to consumer-oriented home networks. Keep checking back at this page for news and information about broadband support and the latest news for this changing environment.

• NET+ Zoom Program Updates Amid COVID-19
• Update on Internet2 Online Event Programming Plans
• EDUCAUSE: COVID-19 Resources
• Housebound Italian Kids Strain Network With Fortnite Marathon
• Comcast Speeds Up Low-Income Internet Service for Students Stuck at Home
• Broadband Providers Brace for Coronavirus Stress Test
• House Members Press ISPs on COVID-19 Readiness

For more information about Internet2's response to the coronavirus, please check this page for regular updates.

Internet2 is ready to assist as you are preparing your own organization for the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation. Whether you need extra network bandwidth and capacity to support your increased video demands or additional services, we are here to help. Our network capacity policy related to emergencies is available to you as well.

March 13, 2020 Updates

• Understanding Network Impacts of Increased Online Learning Activities
• NET+ Zoom Program Updates Amid COVID-19
• Cloud Computing Resources and Steps Internet2 is Taking to Support the Research and Education Community
• Update on Internet2 Online Event Programming Plans
• InCommon Academy Moves Online
• Using The Cloud to Surge VPN Capacity
• COVID-19 News Roundup

March 11, 2020 Updates

Internet2 continues to track the current situation around the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). As such, the following is meant to provide an update on Internet2’s preparations as concerns about the outbreak continue to progress. Internet2 continues to closely monitor events nationally and globally. We are monitoring the latest news and updates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), (as well as local news in the areas where we have offices) among others. 
 
Internet2 is in close contact with many of our higher education members and regional network partners and we are tracking their communications and actions related to coronavirus. We are also collaborating closely with many of our Global National Research and Education Network partners.  
 
Internet2’s plans include contingencies for crisis situations. Internet2 is prepared to maintain our services in order to ensure smooth business operations for our member and partner organizations.
 
We will maintain network connectivity and work hand-in-hand with regional network partners, the Indiana Global NOC and key suppliers to maintain resources and adjust to circumstances as needs emerge in the community. We have verified headroom in our connections to collaboration tools (e.g. Zoom, Webex, course management services) to assure communications are fully functional, are increasing threshold alarming and have reviewed plans to address capacity if there are unexpected usage swings between our network, campuses and the commercial internet. 

We are in close contact with our major vendors and service provider partners regarding any potential impact to both operations and ongoing programs. InCommon Federation and eduroam operations are being closely monitored to ensure the continued availability of those services for our members and subscribers.
 
Many Internet2 staff already work remotely and our remote access and remote work protocols and procedures are well-tested. We are prepared to continue operations if our offices are closed and our employees need to work from home. 
 
As previously communicated, in light of the current circumstances related to the rapidly evolving coronavirus outbreak, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Internet2 Global Summit. The safety and well-being of our community colleagues, members, and staff is our top priority, and we felt that it would be impossible to provide a safe environment for Global Summit attendees.
 

We will continue to monitor this rapidly evolving situation and provide updates as more information becomes available. We will provide an update soon regarding our peering arrangements for critical services.
 
If you have any additional questions, please contact covid-response@internet2.edu.

1. Understanding Network Impacts of Increased Online Learning Activities
2. Cloud Computing Resources and Steps Internet2 is Taking to Support the Research & Education Community
3. NET+ Zoom Program Updates Amid COVID-19
4. InCommon Academy Moves Online
5. Update on Internet2 Online Event Programming Plans
6. Using The Cloud to Surge VPN Capacity
7. COVID-19 News Roundup

URAN operating schedule during the coronavirus quarantine

Given the coronavirus pandemic and supporting the efforts of the world and national communities to contain the exposure, part of URAN staff will be operating mainly remotely. This in no way will affect the operation of our services. To implement additional network and service stability during quarantine, we suspend any Network Architecture changes and upgrades except service critical changes only. Our technical department will continue to provide customer support. We still receive calls on +380 44 204-9816 and respond promptly to messages sent to dopomoga@uran.ua

The administrative staff will mainly work at home and communicate with clients online – via emails, messengers, etc. For any organizational or administrative questions, please contact boss@uran.ua

Human health is the highest priority. We monitor daily the WHO and the Government of Ukraine on the development of the pandemic and act on their recommendations. The issue of holding an annual general meeting will be resolved later, depending on the situation.

We stay in touch and wish you good health!

We do not believe that this outbreak will have a direct impact on the services we provide to clients.

The HEAnet Network has multiple resilient connections to the General Internet and there is sufficient capacity to cope with a shift to remote working and teaching. We are working with our connectivity partners to ensure that extra bandwidth can be provided at short notice in the unlikely event it is required.

HEAnet are closely monitoring the evolving impact of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ireland. We are following Irish government and World Health Organisation advice regarding both internal and international travel.

In addition, normal service upgrades and changes are continuing, however should the situation worsen temporary change freezes may be implemented in order to reduce disruption to services. Work involving physical access to sites will be carefully considered and all client or commercial site restrictions will be observed.

Should there be any restrictions on movement within Ireland, the most likely service to be impacted is the HEAnet network and our connectivity services. If a network fault occurs, restrictions on movement may mean that we are unable to visit a site to provide a fix. If this was to occur, we will communicate directly with affected clients.

The situation is not currently affecting existing network services to the NREN and R&E community in Europe and we are remaining in contact with the GÉANT Operations Centre.

We will continue to meet with clients on your sites, where there are no specific risks. We are encouraging colleagues with meetings at different locations to double-check there are no specific restrictions in place before travelling. We have also advised colleagues to explore other options for meetings, such as online.

HEAnet will continue to monitor the situation, are regularly in communication with key suppliers of equipment, logistics and engineering services, and will inform clients of any significant changes to the current approach. We will also update you if the outbreak starts to impact on the operation of our services to clients. Please check this page regularly to ensure you always have the latest information.

If you require further information on our response to coronavirus you can contact us at noc@heanet.ie

Useful links 

• HSE – coronavirus: overview
• HSE – coronavirus: guidance for educational settings
• Department of Education & Skills – coronavirus: overview
• Irish Government – coronavirus: what is happening

CSC's coronavirus bulletin 12th March

Dear visitor,

Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread and the recommendation of the Finnish institute for health and welfare (THL) and the Finnish Government (Valtioneuvosto), CSC is suspending all visits to CSC premises until further notice.

In addition, CSC's employees will not travel or attend any external meetings for the foreseeable future.

According to this decision CSC is cancelling all customer and stakeholder meetings as well as customer trainings and events until further notice. CSC will make attempts to organize these meetings using virtual tools whenever feasible. Customers will be informed separately.

For more information, please contact:

CSC Customer Service

servicedesk@csc.fi

Open Monday to Friday

from 8.30 a.m. to 4

p.m.

(09) 457 2821

or your CSC contact person

Media: 

Minna Lappalainen, Marketing and Communications Director, 050 3150 235 

Nina Lundahl, Marketing Communications Manager, 050 5982 298

Supporting the global challenges of the novel coronavirus

In response to the current situation of the Corona virus R&E networks are moving to procure additional capacity on existing international links and server farms ahead of demand to ensure universities continue to have the bandwidth and services they need to meet the growing demand for video conferencing, remote learning and personal communications.

Please read more here

https://www.inthefieldstories.net/supporting-the-global-challenges-of-the-novel-coronavirus/

Covid-19 emergency: GARR continues to ensure the functioning of the network

From Tuesday 10 March, GARR staff have been operating mainly remotely (smart working) following the evolution of the COVID-19 emergency. In this way our support to the research and education community continues with an even greater commitment, given the importance of the network for communicating and collaborating particularly at this time.
For support requests, you are kindly invited to privilege e-mail communications and visit the Services web page for all information and documentation.
In case of necessity, the mobile numbers of GARR staff are available in the Directory.
We invite you to follow us for updates on this website or on the official social media channels.

RIPE NCC Services and Covid-19

The RIPE NCC is striving to provide its services to members as normal. However, the situation with covid-19 has meant that we have had to postpone face-to-face training sessions in our service region for Q1 and Q2.

We have also postponed some RIPE NCC-organised events and member lunches. A full list of our events and their status is available from our dedicated webpage.

We are aware the situation is changing quickly and we might need to adjust our internal operations to be in line with recommendations regarding covid-19. So members might experience some delays in dealing with us but we will ensure all standard service requests are completed as soon as possible.

We will at all times keep the well-being of our staff and members as our top priority as we provide support to the membership and the wider community.

Coronavirus

Help and information for members around planning for coronavirus (COVID-19)

Jisc and coronavirus

We do not believe that that this outbreak will have a direct impact on most of the services we provide members. We are continuing to monitor the situation, particularly with respect to suppliers who are critical to our services.

In line with current advice, Digifest and other Jisc events are going ahead. We will continue to review in line with the latest guidance and will update event information and delegates accordingly.

Read our statement on coronavirus in full.

Official advice

• COVID-19: guidance for educational settings - via UK government
• UK government response to coronavirus (COVID-19)
• NHS information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

Practical tips to ensure continuity

We've developed a guide to help you with continuity of learning and teaching during situations of enforced absence.

It contains practical tips to maintain teaching, learning and business operations during circumstances where staff or learners are unable to physically spend time on campus.

Read the guide on ensuring continuity of learning during enforced absence.

Planning for coronavirus - join a free online briefing on 16 March

We're holding a free one-hour session for members on 16 March. We'll explore the areas that you're telling us are worrying you most, regarding how to ensure continuity during the current situation. We'll also explore how you can make best use of the technologies you already have.

Find out more and book your place on our planning for coronavirus (COVID-19) online briefing

Get support - join our community

We've created a Microsoft Teams community space for those who are responsible for ensuring strategic and operational continuity during a potential coronavirus epidemic.

Designed as somewhere to collaborate, ask questions and share experiences, it has four themed channels, focusing around business operations, remote working, student experience and wellbeing, and teaching and learning.

Request to join the planning for coronavirus community.

Access essential online content

Whether you work in FE or HE, you can support learners studying remotely by making the most of our online content.

If your researchers and learners need unrestricted access to the full text of millions of research papers from around the world, or content from over 36,000 journals available via your desktop, we can help.

Looking to support A-level or vocational students to continue learning from home? e-books for FE provides access to over 500 highly rated titles, all matched to the curriculum and available as a benefit of your Jisc membership.

We're here to help

If you have any questions, contact your account manager.

Find your account manager

Jisc statement on coronavirus (COVID-19)

We do not believe that that this outbreak will have a direct impact on most of the services we provide members.

Coronavirus information for members

Guidance for for members around planning for coronavirus (COVID-19).

We are continuing to monitor the situation, particularly with respect to suppliers who are critical to our services.

Should there be any restrictions on movement within the UK, the most likely service to be impacted is Janet and our connectivity services. If a network fault occurs, restrictions on movement may mean that we are unable to visit a site to provide a fix. If this was to occur, we will communicate directly with affected members.

We will continue to meet with members on your sites, where there are no specific risks. We are encouraging colleagues with meetings at different locations to double-check there are no specific restrictions in place before travelling. We have also advised colleagues to explore other options for meetings, such as online.

We will monitor, update and revise this guidance as the situation and government advice develops. We will also update you if the outbreak starts to impact on the operation of our services to members. Please check this page regularly to ensure you always have the latest information.

We have created a new guide offering practical advice on how digital technologies can help your organisation ensure the continuity of teaching, learning and business operations when staff or students are unable to attend campus. We will keep iterating this based on your feedback.

This page was updated on 6 March 2020.

How does this affect the events that Jisc organises?

In line with current advice, Digifest and other Jisc events are going ahead. We will continue to review in line with the latest guidance and will update event information and delegates accordingly.

We are providing advice to all event attendees including guidance on how to avoid catching and spreading viruses like coronavirus. This includes providing additional hand sanitizers at registration, food stations, exhibitions and other areas where washing with soap may be inconvenient. We are asking attendees not to come if they:

• Are feeling in any way unwell
• Have recently travelled from one of the countries affected
• Have been in contact with someone affected by coronavirus

If you require further information on our response to coronavirus you can contact your account manager.

This page was updated on 6 March 2020.

Preventive measures SURF around coronavirus/COVID-19

SURF is monitoring the situation regarding the coronavirus. We follow the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) advice on health and Ministry of Foreign Affairs with regard to travel advice. This leads to a number of concrete measures to limit the spread of the virus.

This page is intended to provide information around the coronavirus and any impact on the activities of the GÉANT Association. We will update the page as needed.

12 March 2020 Update

The GÉANT Association continues to closely monitor advice and recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and from Dutch and UK governments regarding the coronavirus.

GÉANT's Health and Safety Committee utilises this information in decision-making regarding international travel and other considerations.

We will continue to support our partners in the most effective way possible whilst ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff and the wider GÉANT Community.

Health and Safety of our Staff and Contractors

The Health and Safety of our staff and contractors, their families and communities are our first concern. GÉANT's Health and Safety Committee has worked together for many years and we now see the benefits of this well-established trusted relationship between the Health and Safety Officer, representatives of GÉANT's Executive Team, the Dutch PVT and members of staff from our locations in Cambridge and Amsterdam. Together with the Health and Safety Committee, GÉANT's Executive team and CEO monitor the situation and communicate in a transparent way with staff and contractors.

Travel

Last week, we took the decision to suspend all future travel bookings, unless very urgent business requires travel. Such urgent requirements are judged on a case by case basis with a final decision from our CEO.

Following the Dutch prime minister's press conference on 12 March 2020, we are encouraging our Dutch staff and contractors to work from home as much as possible.

Over the past year and due to a more agile office environment in our locations in Cambridge and Amsterdam, the majority of GÉANT's staff and contractors have experienced working remotely or from home. We are at this moment ensuring that we can scale the ability of working from home to 100% of all staff and contractors over the next few days. It is our objective to be fully prepared should the situation arise in which we are asked to work from home by the respective national authorities.

TNC20

GÉANT and Jisc remain committed to TNC20 with unchanged enthusiasm and dedication. To provide additional time before registering, the Early Bird registration has been extended to 31 March 2020. 

GÉANT operations

GÉANT operations are closely monitoring the situation in all countries where GÉANT network POP locations exist. We are following WHO advice regarding international travel relating to these locations. Network Operations Centre activity in the UK is unaffected and all non-essential travel by NOC staff has been suspended.

The situation is not currently affecting existing network services to the NREN and R&E community. Fault rectification and associated first line maintenance activities are outsourced and performed by in-country resources and therefore are not reliant on GÉANT engineering staff to travel. At this moment, our suppliers are confident about first line maintenance support and we are currently assessing with our suppliers the impact on ordering of new equipment.

Until more clarity exists, planned physical Network Architecture changes and upgrades have been largely suspended. Only service-critical changes will be performed using GÉANT operations staff who will observe all advice regarding minimising risk of exposure.

Should in-country travel by 3rd party engineering resource be restricted by the respective national government authorities or otherwise, then GÉANT operations will inform the local NREN and discuss any mitigation measures.

GÉANT operations continue to monitor the situation and are regularly in communication with key suppliers of equipment, logistics and engineering services and will inform users of any significant changes to the current approach.

Today, March 12^th, both the UK and the Dutch governments announced new recommendations in light of the Corona virus.
GÉANT follows those recommendations (The UK one for the Cambridge office and the NL one for Amsterdam office).

UK Government update 12 March 12, 2020

The only key change in the UK is that people are advised to stay at home for 7 days if they have mild symptoms. 
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-statement-on-coronavirus-12-march-2020

NL Government update 12 March 2020

The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, held a press conference today and announced new recommendations that will now be in place for
all of the Netherlands. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/coronavirus-covid-19/nieuws/2020/03/12/nieuwe-maatregelen-tegen-verspreiding-coronavirus-in-nederland

Major points:

1.       Across the country, people with colds, coughing or sore throat and possibly fever should stay at home; they should avoid social contacts as much as possible until they are restored

2.       All events with more than 100 people throughout the Netherlands should be cancelled

3.       The Government asks people to work from home as much as possible

4.       The group of people who are vulnerable (WHO defines this group as older persons and persons with pre-existing medical conditions 

(such as high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease, cancer or diabetes)) should avoid large gatherings and public transport.

1. Universities should move to online teaching and no longer have irl courses
2. Schools and child care will remain open
3. All this until March 31^st 2020.

GÉANT Health and Safety Committee Update 12 March

Given the above announcement GÉANT has reviewed it’s position which is now as follows:

NL based staff are encouraged to work from home as much as possible in line with the recommendation from the Dutch government.  GÉANT
agrees that any NL based employee who wishes to work from home may now do so given the escalation in the situation. Dutch based staff is also
encouraged to follow the other recommendations from the Dutch government.

 Employees in the UK should discuss the situation with their line managers if they are concerned about coming into the office.  Line managers will
contact the HR Team in the UK if there are work related reasons as to why they need team members to come into the office and an employee is
concerned about coming in.  HR, the relevant line manager and the employee will work out a solution together. Employees in the UK showing even
mild symptoms should stay at home and work from home for at least 7 days.

Dear participant, speaker, session chair, staff member, stakeholder of the EuroHPC Summit Week (EHPCSW) 2020,

Thank you for your registration for this year’s edition of our conference.

Close to 500 of you were planning to participate during one or more days of the week-long event, showing that the sessions and speakers we lined up as well as the networking possibilities we included in the programme suited your interests and needs.

One topic that has been on everyone’s mind these past weeks – and will do so for the foreseeable future – is the COVID-19 pandemic.

New outbreaks and the spread of the coronavirus causing this illness are on the news daily, and we are all worried and unsure how the situation will develop and how it will affect us personally and professionally.

As the health and well-being of everyone involved in the EuroHPC Summit Week 2020 is of the utmost importance to us, we have been keeping a close eye on the situation and regularly consulting the official guidelines of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the World Health Organisation, and the Portuguese government. Considering the current situation with many organisations putting travel bans in place, and local and national governments ordering quarantine perimeters around clusters of infections, we have come to the conclusion that continuing the conference is untenable and have therefore decided to cancel the event.

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, these are exceptional and regrettable circumstances and we do hope for your understanding. We will update this page with more information and answers to frequently asked questions as we go forward. If you have any further questions, please contact us by e-mail. We will do our best to answer you as quickly and completely as possible.

A number of sessions will be transformed into virtual / all-digital meetings, and we will list these on a dedicated page to be created here

We can already tell you that EHPCSW 2021 will take place in Porto, Portugal, in March next year - stay tuned for more details to come!

Thank you again for your support and looking forward to meeting you next year,

The EuroHPC Summit Week Organisation & Programme Committee

Dear Colleagues

In light of recent developments regarding COVID-19 we are anticipating a significant number of travel and events (organised internally,  by GÉANT Association) to be cancelled or postponed.

In all instances steps need to be taken to mitigate the financial impact on GÉANT.

In order to manage the process of claiming (or via insurance) “cancelled” costs (i.e. costs relating to activity that will not take place, which ordinarily would not be claimable from an EC funded project), it will be extremely helpful if colleagues could assist in the following way:

If your trip or event is cancelled, please contact the relevant person below to inform them of any cancelled events/ travel:

• Cancelled events / workshops/ meetings that the Association has organised and is paying for directly – NAMES. 

**this is mainly aimed at Event organisers**

Please provide the PO’s that have been allocated for the event.

If a separate contract was signed after the PO (i.e. venue hire) please send a copy of the signed document. 

A list of expected attendees will also be required.

• Cancelled travel – In most cases it should be possible for you to cancel travel arrangements and obtain a full refund. If that is not possible please contact NAMES to provide the document numbers raised for conference fees where applicable.

This request has no impact on those working outside GÉANT Association, i.e. those working for NRENs.

I appreciate that this is adding a little more overhead at a time when due to COVID-19 things are already pretty stressful. Your help in this respect is much appreciated and will ensure that the financial impact to GÉANT from COVID-19 will be mitigated to as large an extent as possible.

Thanks,

GÉANT Marcomms

The GÉANT Association continues to closely monitor advice and recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and from Dutch and UK governments regarding the coronavirus.

GÉANT's Health and Safety Committee utilises this information in decision-making regarding international travel and other considerations.

We will continue to support our partners in the most effective way possible whilst ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our staff and the wider GÉANT Community.

GÉANT Marcomms

GÉANT Marcomms

GÉANT operations are closely monitoring the situation in all countries where GÉANT network POP locations exist. We are following WHO advice regarding international travel relating to these locations. Network Operations Centre activity in the UK is unaffected and all non-essential travel by NOC staff has been suspended.

The situation is not currently affecting existing network services to the NREN and R&E community. Fault rectification and associated first line maintenance activities are outsourced and performed by in-country resources and therefore are not reliant on GÉANT engineering staff to travel.

Until more clarity exists, planned physical Network Architecture changes and upgrades have been largely suspended. Only service-critical changes will be performed using GÉANT operations staff who will observe all advice regarding minimising risk of exposure.

Should in-country travel by 3rd party engineering resource be restricted by the respective national government authorities or otherwise, then GÉANT operations will inform the local NREN and discuss any mitigation measures.

GÉANT operations continue to monitor the situation and are regularly in communication with key suppliers of equipment, logistics and engineering services and will inform users of any significant changes to the current approach.

Information on COVID-19

Whilst advice from the World Health Organisation has not substantially changed it is clear that many have concerns regarding the virus and how it may affect us and the recent outbreaks in Europe have added to these concerns.

In response to concerns about the safety of travel, whether by air or public transport, we would like to share the following information from the WHO website on the current understanding of how the virus is transmitted and suggest that you review the sections highlighted below.

Advice from WHO

• How does COVID-19 spread?
• What can I do to protect myself and prevent the spread of the disease?
• How likely am I to catch COVID-19?
• Should I worry about COVID-19?

There is further information on travelling during the coronavirus outbreak

GÉANT is actively monitoring the WHO advice and the situation in general in locations where GÉANT meetings are planned and will keep in contact with participants if the situation changes. Please do talk to your own organisations about their advice to employees on travel.

Dear Colleagues,

Given the developing situation with the outbreak of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), with immediate effect, and until further notice, all new travel bookings (all modes of travel, including by train and plane) will be suspended to provide a duty of care to all staff and avoid unnecessary cancellation costs in the future.

Although at this time, there are no formal reasons not to travel, we note that many people in our community are cancelling travel to various meetings and asking for VC alternatives. Therefore, travel planning for future meetings is to be suspended until we have more clarity on developments. Our account with our travel agency has been temporarily suspended. Please note, this temporary travel ban applies to all future bookings.

If you have already made a booking, please ensure that you monitor the  https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/travel-advice

to determine if it is safe to continue with your travel plans/meetings. Please remember that risk assessments for all visits that have already been booked to all destinations must be undertaken.   

There is no expectation that staff who have already booked their travel will be required to travel on business unless they feel entirely comfortable and safe with the arrangements for the travel required. 

Staff will continue to be informed regarding the impact of Coronavirus on GÉANT operations, and specifically in relation to forthcoming events.

Please let me, or your manager or any member of the Exec know if you have any queries regarding the above.