author: Mateusz Popielak
New Internet Speed Record on Regular Fibre-optic Cable
Researchers from Australia have managed to reach a connection speed of over 44 Tb/s. Most importantly, not under strict laboratory conditions.
Researchers from Monash University, Swinburne University and RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) have succeeded in creating an internet connection running at 44.2 terabits per second.
The infrastructure is based on one optical device - the so-called microcomb. It replaces 80 lasers and is lighter and smaller than solutions currently used in telecommunications. The most important thing is that the microcomb is compatible with currently used optical fibers. As Professor Mitchell from RMIT said for Science Daily:
"Long-term, we hope to create integrated photonic chips that could enable this sort of data rate to be achieved across existing optical fibre links with minimal cost."
To better illustrate the speed, Science Daily gave an example of downloading 1000 HD movies in a fraction of a second. The fact that the technology used is compatible with the fiber optics we already know does not, of course, mean that a standard customer will be able to download games or movies at over 40 terabits per second - this is not just dependent on the speed of their connection. Nevertheless, such a discovery may contribute to a huge improvement in the network infrastructure of large companies, institutions, cities or countries.