LONDON -- David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, today announced £7.2 million of investment that could revolutionise the internet.

The six-year ‘Photonics HyperHighway’ project will bring together world-leading scientists from the University of Southampton and the University of Essex with industry partners, including BBC Research and Development, to pioneer new technologies that could make broadband internet 100 times faster.

The project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will look at the way fibre optics are used, and develop new materials and devices to increase internet bandwidth. This will ensure that the web can cope with more broadband subscribers and the increasing use of services such as internet television and music downloads.

These breakthroughs would also bring improvements to many industries including retail and banking, which would both benefit from faster transaction times.

Announcing the investment during a visit to officially open the University of Southampton’s award-winning Mountbatten Building, where much of the research will be conducted, Minister for Universities and Science David Willetts said:

“The internet is fundamental to our lives and we use it for a huge range of activities - from doing the weekly food shop to catching up with friends and family. The number of broadband subscribers has grown vastly in the past ten years, and we need to ensure the web infrastructure can continue to meet this demand.

U.K. Department for Business, Innovation & Skills