ONE of the architects of the internet, Larry Smarr, is warning Australian universities to overhaul their campus networks or risk falling behind research developments around the world.
Professor Smarr said the internet protocol, designed for emails and small-file transfers, was 30 years old and networks in Australia could not transfer the data needed for research in fields such as genetics, physics and astronomy.
A failure to overhaul campus networks would prevent Australian researchers from keeping up with colleagues and developments around the world, he told Fairfax newspapers.
"It is the equivalent of building an interstate freeway system in addition to country roads,`` he said of what is needed in addition to the conventional internet.
"The problem is that over the years, because the shared internet was so successful, you did not have a (dedicated) chemistry or an astronomy internet.
"We have realised we need a fibre overlay in addition to the regular internet we use every day ... If Australia`s researchers are going to remain competitive they need a similar system.``
Professor Smarr arrives in Australia tomorrow (Tuesday) as a visiting scholar for the Australian-American leadership dialogue.
He is calling for governments, universities and research institutes to set up their own optical fibre networks.
Some universities have begun to do this, and the cost for an upgrade of all campuses is estimated at tens of millions of dollars.
