Meaning – The consortium for research and education network, is a large computer network that was formed from the merging of the Because Itís Time Network (BITNET) and the Computer Science Network (CSNET).
At its peak, this network supported around 1,400 organizations in 49 countries, for the electronic non-commercial exchange of information in support of research and education.
CREN supported both the email-based applications and services that are a prominent feature of BITNET, and a public key infrastructure for higher education. In 1996, CREN ended its support and on January 7, 2003, CREN’s members decided to dissolve the organization entirely.
As a Founding Organizational Member of the Internet Society, CREN will continue its support of the Internet Society and its participation in the Internet Engineering Task Force to develop standards, policies, and information useful to CREN members and the broader networking community.
Example of usage – “He used to work in an organisation that was an avid user of the CREN network back in the day.”
