Fast internet access crucial for NZ academics

By RICHARD PAMATATAU

If New Zealand wants to be part of the knowledge economy, it needs to move quickly on increasing fast access to the internet, says Victoria University computer science professor John Hine.

Slow internet access and its effect on New Zealand's academic and economic health have become big problems. To solve them, Victoria University is pushing for a fast network that may cost up to $250 million to build.

Hine said a gateway that was built and managed by Waikato University "evaporated" as Telecom's internet arm, Xtra, and other internet service providers emerged to take over the internet market.

All universities used the Waikato University gateway, but, like many other organisations, ended up following the market, he said.

The Victoria University scheme, known as the Next Generation Internet project, aims to let researchers and academics plug into vast databases at speeds up to 200 times faster than Telecom's "high-speed" Jetstream services.

Hine said such a network was critical because academic research and experiments were often conducted collaboratively around the world. "These networks are changing the way science is done."

Sharing number crunching or simulation over a large number of computers or processors meant a lot more could be done, said Hine.

An example might be researchers at Victoria gathering astronomical data from a telescope that was managed remotely rather than sitting on a mountain top somewhere.

Tone Borren, chief executive of the Next Generation Internet project, said last month that such a network could cost anything from $10 million to $40 million or even up to $250 million.

The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has recommended that the Government support such a network. Its general manager of strategic development, Andrew Kibblewhite, indicated that a mid-year launch was the aim.