The world is experiencing an information revolution
Japanese engineers have just shattered the world record for the fastest internet speed.
Researchers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Japan successfully achieved a data transmission rate of 319 Terabits per second (Tb/s). This record is almost double the previous record of 178 Tb/s, set less than a year ago. In comparison, the US space agency NASA uses a sluggish speed of 400 Gb/s.
This incredibly fast transmission speed could change many things in the future!
The world record was set over more than 1,864 miles (3,000 km) long line of existing fiber-optic infrastructure.
The Japanese engineers not only set the world record for fastest speed, but they have also provided a novel solution by combining the existing fiber-optic infrastructure with more advanced technologies
Instead of the traditional standard core, the researchers used four-core optical fiber which had glass tubes placed in the fibers that transmit data. They used a technique called wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), which separates the signal into numerous wavelengths transmitting simultaneously.
Importantly, this technology is relatively straightforward to implement into existing fiber-optic infrastructure. The four-core optical fiber used in this technology has the same diameter as the standard single core fiber.
