China starts large-scale testing of its internet of the future
- Experimental network connects 40 leading universities to prepare for an AI-driven society five to 10 years down the track
- The facility will become a prototype ‘future internet’ with huge bandwidth to connect the many devices expected to be commonplace
Headquartered at Tsinghua University, the “future internet technology infrastructure” connects 40 of the country’s leading research universities with huge bandwidth and far lower latency than the existing internet, according to state news agency Xinhua.
It will serve as a backbone network for the China Environment for Network Innovations (CENI), a national research facility connecting the largest cities in China, to verify its performance and the security of future network communications technology before commercial use.
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China now has nearly 1 billion internet users
When completed in 2023, the CENI facility will become a prototype “future internet” connecting to almost everything – from computers at home to cars on the street – for seamless communications in an AI-driven society.
“We will throw a lot of punches at it. The future internet must be able to stand firmly against attacks. It matters to the foundation of our national security,” said a computer scientist involved with the project at Tsinghua who asked not to be named, due to the project’s sensitivity.
After the Snowden revelations, Beijing launched a massive effort to replace the Western hardware in its information infrastructure.
