Research and education groups will now be able to form virtual research communities which can work together to collaborate, communicate and produce results as if they were in the next room, according to AARNet.

"Once these new technologies have been adopted within the research community, these services and functions will flow to all sectors of education and into the broader community to facilitate life-long learning," Hancock said.

The AARNet3 network consists of more than 30,000 pair kilometers (18,641 miles) of fiber connecting about one million end users. This covers much of the Australian mainland, including connecting research and teaching institutions from Cairns to Perth and Darwin to Hobart.