While most of us mope around at home complaining how slow our internet speed is and how expensive the rates are, engineers from Japan’s NICT have been quietly working on new technology that could potentially double internet speeds compared to what we have today.
Japan has announced that their engineers from the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) have managed to break the old Internet speed record and have set a new one that has been measured at 319 terabits per second (Tb/s) over a distance of 1,865 miles (approx. 3,000 kilometres).
The previous record achieved in collaboration with UK and Japan was 178 Tb/s. The feat was made possible using optical fibres that carry data using light instead of normal copper cables. Some very talented and skilled engineers worked with lasers to make this record possible, using a 552-channel laser that operates at various wavelengths. They also took advantage of specialised erbium and thulium amplifiers to boost range and speed.
The team successfully managed to carry and transmit data over 3000 kilometres without any performance drops. They also said that regular optical fibre cables could support this technology but with some modifications.
Interestingly, the team still believes that more speed can be achieved and is already working on improving the transmissions further.
