Sydney, AUSTRALIA – 1 August 2008 – AARNet, Australia’s National Research and Education Network (NREN) has set another milestone today by launching a 10 Gigabit (Gbit) IP access product. Now for the first time Australian academics and researchers will be able to participate in local and international research projects that require high bandwidth applications to be run or large amounts of data to be exchanged.

The network upgrade was made with an investment of $1 million and it will improve AARNet members’ access to the network from 1 Gbit to a 10 Gbit which will increase their access speed into AARNet’s existing highly resilient IP backbone. The new 10 Gbit access product will allow Australian researchers to collaborate on international research projects in the areas of physics and astronomy. The upgraded access will also increase the adoption of OptiPortal, an ultra-resolution high definition video collaboration technology amongst Australia’s research and education institutions.

Chris Hancock, CEO of AARNet said, “Today’s announcement marks another strategic milestone in the history of the Internet in Australia. AARNet has set new standards for internet access speeds over a network infrastructure which is over 10,000 times faster than what is typically available for ADSL2+ broadband users in the country.”

Australian academics and scientists will now be able to participate in international research programs such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator built by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN). Melbourne University and Australian National University are currently involved in the LHC and will immediately benefit from the upgrade.

The backbone upgrade also paves the way for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), one of two international test beds used for the development of the SKA. The new access capacity will improve the capture and correlation of data for e-VLBI research by linking an array of dishes capable of high dynamic range imaging with supercomputers for the processing of data.

Hancock added, “The continued investment in the network by the Federal government and AARNet ensures that Australia remains at the forefront of international research and education initiatives. This network upgrade is an example of how AARNet is improving the performance of innovation in Australia to sustain a better world.”

AARNet also announced its network roadmap today outlining its network infrastructure for the next six years. In 2009-2011, AARNet’s roadmap includes a pathway for a 40Gbit IP backbone and an increase to drive the expansion of AARNet’s national optical network capacity by up to 80 x 40 Gbit channels.

As technology advances in 2011-2016, AARNet members will have access to LambdaPaths for research and collaboration with no capacity restrictions. These LambdaPaths will allow seamless capacity upgrades as research demands increase as well as the ability to dynamically re-route or switch capacity on demand.

The benefits from the IP backbone upgrade are expected to flow through AARNet’s range of existing services such as the EN4R, an Experimental Network for Researchers and a soon to be launched National Collaboration Network, a point to point or multipoint national Ethernet service.

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For further information, please contact:

Tara Schwarze Max Australia +61 2 9954 3492 Tara.schwarze@maxaustralia.com.au

About AARNet AARNet Pty Ltd (APL) is the company that operates Australia's Academic and Research Network (AARNet). It is a not-for-profit company limited by shares. The shareholders are 37 Australian universities and the CSIRO. AARNet provides high-capacity leading edge Internet services for the tertiary education and research sector communities and their research partners. AARNet serves more than one million end users who access the network through local area networks at member institutions. For further information, please visit: www.aarnet.edu.au.