CANLMAN was created in 1999. It operates a network based on fibre optic cables around Carlisle and Lancaster City centres with a number of spurs radiating out from these core nodes. These provide connectivity into the central lakes area (Windemere and Ambleside), south west Cumbria (Barrow), west Cumbria (Whitehaven) and the Fylde Coast (Blackpool).

CANLMAN is a Regional Partner Academic Network (RPAN) of the Joint Academic Network (JANET) and is subject to the JANET Acceptable Use Policy. It is a consortium made up of Carlisle College, University of Cumbria and Lancaster University. It provides a high performance Metropolitan Area Network to educational establishments within the North West of the United Kingdom.

For more background information about connecting to and using JANET see the JISC How to Connect to JANET web page.