On 30 January, Minister Micky Adriaansens (Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) visited Nikhef and SURF in Amsterdam and opened the so-called innovation roundabout.
The innovation roundabout is a test environment where SURF and Nikhef can start experimenting with new network technologies. It has an internet speed of 800 Gbit/s; more than 1,000 times faster than the internet connection of an average household in the Netherlands. With this innovation roundabout, Dutch researchers are able to conduct research into the next generation of network technologies.
Next step in network technology
Education and research have a growing need for bandwidth on the internet. Researchers want to share more and larger data sets quickly and securely across national borders. Network bandwidth plays a crucial role in this. To process these large amounts of data quickly, it is expected that 800Gbit/s could become the standard for this. The innovation roundabout makes it possible to experiment with new network technologies, such as currently the extremely high network speeds.
Ron Augustus, Chief Innovation Officer of SURF: “By continuously innovating in the field of network technology and data transfer, we can, together with Nikhef, take the next step towards the future of superfast, sustainable internet and ensure that research and education in the Netherlands remains at the forefront of global developments.”
When 800Gbit/s becomes the standard in the future, this technology will be adopted by SURF in the mainstream (international) network through the NetherLight node. NetherLight is the European hub for international light paths where education and research parties around the world exchange data traffic.
Tristan Suerink, Nikhef IT Architect: “We see 800Gbit/s as an essential building block for managing the deluge of information we will have to process in the coming years. The innovation roundabout gives us the opportunity to be well prepared to cope with this data flow and to master the techniques surrounding 800Gbit/s. We are also very pleased to be able to embark on this innovation adventure together with SURF.”
Strengthening the Netherlands as a digital hub
With this innovation, SURF and Nikhef, together with the Dutch and international research community, are taking the next step in the field of network technology. The innovation roundabout contributes to strengthening the Netherlands as a digital hub for education and research. In time, we expect other sectors, such as internet exchanges, to also make use of these new technologies.
Minister Micky Adriaansens (EZK): “Digitalisation offers many opportunities for progress, for people and our economy. This test environment of SURF and Nikhef for high-speed communication reinforces the Dutch ambition to remain a digital leader. With this research, we can improve our knowledge position when it comes to innovative digital infrastructure. It would be great if this yields good results and leads to opportunities for business and education, for example.”
Visit to Nikhef
Before the launch of the innovation roundabout, Minister Adriaansens was welcomed at Nikhef by director Stan Bentvelsen and institute manager Arjen van Rijn, who spoke to her about Nikhef’s pioneering research and the state-of-the-art technology being developed for it. In particular, Nikhef’s role in ICT developments was discussed. Industry Liaison Officer Jan Visser of Nikhef explained the cooperation of CERN and Dutch industry including the resulting technological spin-offs. To conclude her visit at Nikhef, the minister followed a number of demonstrations on the future gravitational wave observatory Einstein Telescope and was shown around the workshop.
