PhD student develops technology to make broadband Internet 200 times faster

The Melbourne Herald Sun has reported that an Australian PhD student has developed technology that will delver Internet speeds up to 250Mbps over existing copper phone lines, negating the need to install costly fiber optic cables. Dr John Papandriopoulos, a research fellow at the University of Melbourne, spent a year developing the technology, which uses mathematic coding to reduce the interference that slows down Internet speeds.

Papandriopoulos also told Image and Data Manager Online, "People have been trying to push up the speeds of broadband to as fast as possible by pushing the actual bandwidth limits. The underlying problem is really one of interference, in effect your neighbor is interfering with your speed".

Reportedly, the anti-interference technology could be installed directly into existing modems as a software upgrade or be shipped in new modems and would also require installation at the telephone exchange end.

Dr John Papandriopoulos won the Melbourne University Chancellor’s Prize for Excellence in PhD, for the technology which is being patented in Australia and the U.S.

The technology has huge potential, particularly in countries where the cost/benefit equation of rolling out expensive fiber optic networks to replace existing copper phone lines is prohibitive. Dr Papandriopoulos hopes it will be available within 3-4 years.