Japanese researching 'new Internet' for 2020
updated 04:15 pm EDT, Mon August 20, 2007
New Internet in 2020
The Japanese government is beginning research that could usher in a dramatically improved Internet structure in less than 15 years, the country's Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga has told reporters while on a visit to Brazil. The official revealed that Japan hopes to create a world network architecture that overcomes many of the fundamental problems that affect the current Internet by introducing faster overall connections, data packets that are more likely to reach their destinations, and security measures that could fight data hijacking or fast-spreading worms. Such a fix is ultimately needed as the Internet will ultimately strain to handle the speed needed by users, Suga argued.
An organization should be ready by the fall which will help boost the technology for businesses, government bodies, and schools. Suga would not say how widespread the technology would be in the near future but explained that commercial service is predicted for 2020, which would open use to the entire public. The only current alternative network to the current worldwide structure is Internet2, which to date is largely separate from the main Internet and is used almost exclusively by academic institutions for extremely speed-sensitive data.
