| Asia Pacific Advanced Network | |
| Abbreviation: | APAN |
| Formation: | 3 June 1997, incorporated on 8 August 2009 in Hong Kong |
| Purpose: | Research Networking |
| Headquarters: | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Status: | Company limited by guarantee |
| Region Served: | Asia-Pacific |
| Leader Title: | Chairman |
| Leader Name: | Shinji Shimojo |
| Main Organ: | Council of Primary Members |
The Asia-Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) is a not-for-profit association of Asia-Pacific national research and education networks (NRENs) incorporated in Hong Kong as a company limited by guarantee. The organisation was originally formed on 3 June 1997 and was incorporated on 8 August 2009.
The objectives of APAN are
Full membership of APAN is open to NRENs (one per country or economy). Non-voting membership is available for persons, organisations or corporations that have common interests in the objectives of APAN.
Similar organisations elsewhere in the world include GÉANT, UbuntuNet Alliance, WACREN (West and Central African Research and Education Network), ASREN (Arab States Research and Education Network), and CLARA (Cooperación Latino Americana de Redes Avanzadas).
The necessity for high-end internet for researchers in the Asia-Pacific region was recognized at the APEC Symposium in Tsukuba, Japan in March 1996, and then at APII Test-bed Forum in Seoul, Korea in June 1996, the creation of APAN was proposed. Meetings were held with the attendance of the delegates from North America or Europe for one year, and the APAN Consortium was formed under a Memorandum of Understanding in June 1997 to promote advanced research in networking technologies and the development of high-performance broadband applications.
APAN is designed to offer a high-performance network for research and development on advanced next-generation applications and services. APAN provides an advanced networking environment for the research and education community in the Asia-Pacific region, and promotes global collaboration.
Twice a year, APAN runs a conference for academic networkers called the APAN Meetings. Each conference is hosted by a member NREN and attended by around 200 delegates from academic backgrounds including networking specialists and managers from networking and research organisations.