AARNet's new fibre network for science and research in SA and WA can hit transmission speeds of 8 Tbps.
AARNet, which provides networking for researchers and educational institutions, announced the deployment of the 3500-kilometre network that goes from Adelaide to Perth and on to the Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory in remote Western Australia. AARNet partnered with Cisco to build the network.
The network currently can do several hundred gigabits per second but is scalable to 8 Tbps in the long term, AARNet said.
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The project allows Australia to participate in the Square Kilometre Array global research project. The SKA is a next-generation radio telescope involving more than 20 countries worldwide.
“Building a super fast unregenerated network across such a phenomenal distance puts Australia at the bleeding edge of networking and further bolsters our world standing in science and research,” AARNet CEO Chris Hancock said in a statement.
“This network is critical for supporting the higher education and research sector’s increasing demand for capacity to Asia.”
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