Press & PR

New technology that can share data 10,000 times faster than broadband could make the internet obsolete, it has been suggested.

According to a recent article in the Times, a global network used for analysing data produced by the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle accelerator in the world, could eventually be extended to provide ultra-fast connections for businesses and other institutions.

The grid, as the network is known, has been built using fibre-optic cables that transport data at far higher rates than copper-based networks are capable of.

"Projects like the grid will bring huge changes in business and society as well as science," said professor Tony Doyle, technical director of the grid project.

The publication notes that the grid would be capable of sending the entire Rolling Stones back catalogue from Britain to Japan in less than two seconds.

Such news follows a recent prediction in the Observer asserting that unless significant infrastructural changes are made, the vast amount of data being shared over the internet could bring it to a standstill in the future.

Vonage is providing those with broadband connections to make cheap calls using VoIP services, which require relatively low bandwidth to work.