Jisc has upgraded its Janet network, meaning a wider variety of educational establishments will be able to use the high-speed system alongside the current students, researchers and staff.
Increasing the network's core network capacity from 200 Gbit to 600 Gbit means it can be used for distance learning and web-based educational resources as well as on-campus services. Research will also be given a boost, because the extra capacity means academics can continue to access, store and share their petabytes of research with peers and partnering organisations around the world.
Jisc said the changes are a reflection of changes in the way people are opting to learn, with a new focus on people wanting to study away from a traditional educational environment.
"An increasing culture of change and innovation within higher and further education organisations, along with a surge in cross-organisational collaboration and access to open educational resources, have all contributed to the increased data traffic across the Janet network," Tim Kidd, executive director of Jisc technologies, said.
"We believe that the upgrade will be instrumental in keeping UK research competitive on a global scale and enable high end collaborations across a wide range of projects which support things like medical research, all of which are making great contributions and advancements for mankind."
Additionally, Jisc said the upgrade will improve the experience for those already using the network. Extra resources such as video-based teaching, group working and online interactions between students and lecturers will be available as the connection speeds are dramatically improved.
"The improvement will mean that researchers can have access to facilities like high performance computing which will speed up data heavy activities and carry out high-quality collaborations in real time," Kidd added. "They will also feel more confident when bidding for grants as they know they have the right infrastructure in place to support projects."
