Head of pioneering internet research says UK broadband in dire need of capacity boost

Photonics HyperHighway project aims to make broadband 100 times faster

The University of Southampton is to receive part of a £7.2m bursary from the government to enable research into methods of increasing broadband speed.

This funding has been awarded as part of a scheme called the Photonics HyperHighway, which aims to bring together scientists from the universities of Southampton and Essex, as well as industry partners such as BBC Research and Development. The project aims to develop new technologies capable of making broadband internet 100 times faster than it is currently.

This project will help mitigate fears in the industry that UK broadband is close to full capacity.

Head of research at Southampton, David Payne, said, "The infrastructure of the global internet is based on fibre, and also on the assumption that its capacity is infinite.

"This is not true. It will come to an end. Assuming the current rate of growth, and with video driving increased data traffic, reaching full capacity on the fibre networks is a reality.

"We are currently using the same technology for internet as we rolled out in the 1980s - it's internet 1.0. If you compare this with mobile where we are now looking at 4G, the UK's wired broadband infrastructure is lagging behind."

Payne said the UK cannot be an advanced technology country "when the backbone of our internet is outdated".

He added that the UK's aging infrastructure was prompting ISPs to limit capacity.

"ISPs are deliberately throttling their traffic because they can't deal with the capacity," said Payne.

"[This practice is used in the main for] peer-to-peer and gambling sites, but some are saying that they will have to reduce their bandwidth at peak times. This is an early indication of problems."

Payne also said that the government needs to do more when it comes to getting broadband deep into rural communities.

"The UK is not doing enough to get broadband into communities where it is not commercially viable - but I don't understand why," said Payne.

"This is a government problem and it needs to come up with incentives to ensure that these communities become commercially viable for ISPs."