An Australian researcher is on the road to riches after discovering a way to make broadband connections up to 100 times faster. University of Melbourne research fellow Dr John Papandriopoulos is in the throes of moving to Silicon Valley after developing an algorithm to reduce the electromagnetic interference that slows down ADSL connections. Most ADSL services around the world are effectively limited to speeds between 1 to 20Mbps, but if Dr Papandriopoulos"s technology is successfully commercialised that speed ceiling would be closer to 100Mbps.
Stanford University engineering professor John Cioffi, known by some as the "father of DSL", was one of the external experts reviewing the research, which made up Dr Papandriopoulos"s PhD thesis. Professor Cioffi, who developed the computer chips inside the first DSL modems, was so impressed he offered the 29-year-old a job at his Silicon Valley start-up company, ASSIA, which is developing ways to optimise the performance of DSL networks. Dr Papandriopoulos, whose efforts also earned him the University of Melbourne"s Chancellor"s Prize for Excellence, said he would leave for the US in about two weeks. He has already applied for two patents relating to his discovery.