JISC

The JANET Lightpath fibre-optic network is the JISC-funded arm of the UK’s contribution to global efforts to build a super-computer grid infrastructure. It is capable of handling enormous amount of data, such as those generated by CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. With a maximum capacity of 10 gigabits per second, its incredibly high bandwidth has already facilitated research projects in computationally-intensive fields from astronomy and particle physics to molecular biology.
[Experiments like this] show how JANET Lightpath can add new capability in any field.’ Professor Peter Clarke, National e-Science Centre

JANET Lightpath, an additional functionality of higher education’s existing JANET network. It works by enabling researchers to transfer huge amounts of data directly between remote locations. Vitally, there is no loss or re-ordering of data. Without it, the UK’s conventional network would struggle to cope with the volume of data from CERN alone. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory near Oxford recently used this network to send 60 million megabytes of data to CERN over a ten-day period – using standard broadband this would have taken 30 years.

So what does this have to do with bagpipes? At the UK e-Science community’s All Hands Meeting at the University of Edinburgh from 8-11 September 2008, JANET Lightpath showcased one of its myriad potential applications. Its top quality bandwidth was used to transmit a flawless, studio-resolution recording of bagpipes played live in Edinburgh. This was received milliseconds later by award-winning composer Ambrose Field at the University of York, who immediately remixed and returned the data.

JISC Communications Officer Judy Redfearn witnessed the experiment, saying, ‘It was eerie, as though the pipers were actually in the room. It was better than the best broadcast quality’.

‘I want to encourage potential uses such as this’ says Peter Clarke, deputy director of the National e-Science Centre. ‘They can show how JANET Lightpath can add new capability in any field.’ With such great potential for studio quality music performance and collaborative composing already proven, he encourages researchers from all fields to "think out of the box".  

Further information on this experiment, visit the University of York's original article 
For an article detailing other projects trialling JANET Lightpath technology, visit the Research Council UK
Read about earlier tests of the UK's first optical network.