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Internet2 goes to 100Gbps – but will somebody please think of the children?
Whilst some may ask what could you do with infinite bandwidth, others are actually trying to get there. Internet2 – a research project that is surprisingly low-profile outside of those directly involved – has recently reached 100Gbps and there are, as ever, plans to go faster.
We’re at an odd period in the history of the Internet when it comes to bandwidth. We’re at speeds fast enough to provision most people’s textual and audio requirements just fine, and a few years away from being able to provide enough space for everybody’s HD video requirements. The question is, what next? What uses can we put higher speeds to? We’re quickly reaching the point where we can send data around between nodes faster than the nodes can do something useful with the data.
Once we’re at the point where data can consistently be transferred quicker than it can be processed – either by a computer or a human – we’re at a new point in the history of the network. Suddenly the big powerful boxes stitched together with string become mere silos for the data. And we, the users, reach a point where there is true saturation. At what point will the capacity for data transfer outreach the collective human capacity for making use of it?
