Japanese researchers have set a new record for fiber optic data transfer speed, achieving one million gigabits per second over a distance of 1.8 thousand kilometers. This result is particularly significant for practical applications as it demonstrates the possibility of ultra-high-speed communication over long distances.
The achievement was made possible by using an innovative 19-core optical fiber cable. Although higher speeds had previously been demonstrated over significantly shorter distances (e.g., 1.7 million Gbit/s over 63.5 km), the record of one million gigabits over 1800 km is a breakthrough for creating commercially viable long-distance communication lines.
At a speed of one million gigabits per second, one could download about 10 thousand 4K-resolution movies in just one second. This successful experiment confirms that the potential of existing fiber optic networks can be significantly increased without the need for radical infrastructure upgrades from scratch.
Finley Holt