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Japanese researchers have achieved internet transmission of 1 million gigabytes per second, over 1100 miles. This speed is a monumental leap, demonstrating the ability to transmit an enormous amount of data over a distance comparable to connecting major cities across continents.
Researchers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), in collaboration with Sumitomo Electric Industries, have repeatedly pushed the boundaries of internet speed. Recently, they have managed to set a new world record for long-distance, high-capacity transmission: 1.02 petabits per second over 1,808 kilometers (approximately 1,123 miles) using a 19-core optical fiber with a standard cladding diameter.
Unlike conventional single-core fibers, this innovative fiber cable contains 19 cores, essentially providing 19 parallel pathways for data transmission within a single fiber. This was achieved while maintaining a standard cladding diameter (0.125 mm), meaning it’s compatible with existing fiber optic infrastructure.
This makes the technology more practical for future integration into real-world networks. The researchers optimized the fiber’s structure and arrangement to achieve low optical fiber losses across multiple wavelength ranges (C-band and L-band), commonly used in commercial optical fiber transmission systems.
The development of an optical amplification system specifically designed to support this multi-core fiber allowed for the transmission of data over such a vast distance. Back in 2023, up to 1.7 million gigabytes of speed was achieved, but researchers only managed to transmit it up to 63.5 km. This record-breaking achievement could be essential to meet the increasing global demand for data, particularly as post-5 G communication services are incoming.
