HTTP/2, a new version of the protocol that lets computers download information from the internet, has been formally approved and could speed up the web for everyone.
The group behind the protocol announced this morning that work on the specification is done, and that it will now be checked over and published. It is based on a protocol made by Google, called SPDY and pronounced “speedy”, which has already been speeding up the internet for many users without them knowing it.
HTTP/2 and SPDY both help browsing move quicker by streamlining the way that browsers make requests to servers, allowing them to ask for a number of things at once. The Verge compared the advance with the ability to put a number of things in one envelope, rather than being forced to send a separate envelope each time.
SPDY is already integrated into Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox. Big websites including Google itself, along with Twitter and Facebook, use the protocol to speed up connections on compatible browsers.
HTTP/2 will bring the technologies that allow the protocol to work to everyone, over time.