The European Commission (EC) has invested €22.3 Million (£19.98 Million) towards 13 photonics research projects (the Piano+ initiative) that aim to boost the capacity of fibre optic broadband networks and deliver internet speeds of over 1Gbps (Gigabits per second) into homes and businesses.

The research projects will run for up to 3 years and have been designed to help Europe achieve its Digital Agenda goals, which includes making sure that everybody has access to faster 30Mbps+ service speeds (with 50% or more using a 100Mbps product) by 2020.


The primary aim of all this is to develop new technology that will give customers a faster service at no extra cost, which essentially means finding new ways to squeeze more out of existing fibre services through enhancements to transceivers, amplifiers and routers.