Japan is now in the record books after the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology broke a record of transferring data at 319 Tbps.
This is speed is close to double what it was previously in 2020. This speed could allow for downloading at least 7,000 movies in about a second.
Examining the System
In order to transfer data this quickly, scientists had to look at every aspect of the computer system. Fiber optic lines had to be upgraded so that they could hold up to the increased speed of transfer.
While most systems use a single core, scientists had to upgrade the one used during the transfer so that there were four cores used. The laser was also amplified for a faster transfer process.
Scientists didn’t use the system under any kind of landmass or any oceans. Instead, they used a coiled system to try to simulate what conditions would be like at least 1,800 miles away.
The upgrade was quite expensive, but the end results were worth the time and money spent.
Faster Than Average
When you look at the speed record that was broken, it’s about 7 million times faster than what you would typically have in your home.
Internet systems utilize various types of equipment like satellite internet to deliver the signal to homes and businesses with fiber optic internet being one of the most common and perhaps the fastest.
Some of the older connections, such as dial-up, utilize phone wires and can be quite slow. Fiber optic cables work by transferring data with light pulses, which is how it can be transferred so quickly.
With four cores in the system designed in Japan, there was more room to allow for data to be transferred instead of data being sent through one cable.
Lasers used in the system sent pulses but at various wavelengths and through a few different amplification techniques to see how the cables would withstand the data transfer process.
Future Expectations
Although the transfer was successful in Japan at a record-breaking speed, you shouldn’t expect to have speeds like this in your home any time soon because of the equipment used and the money involved.
One detail of the experiment could have an impact on your home internet speed over the next few years.
The optical fiber used in the cores could begin making its way across the globe for some internet providers to use to see if they could possibly deliver services at even a fraction of the tested speed.
The four cores used were so small that they were able to fit inside the cable that typically only has one core inside. This is one of the reasons why the concept of the internet that’s this fast might not be too far-fetched.
However, it would take a lot of money to get a project of this magnitude up and running.
Once all of the details of the transfer in Japan are reviewed, scientists hope that they can begin working on a faster system.
They also hope that they can deliver information to other countries so that they can work on their own internet speeds and try and break more records in the future.
If internet signals can be sent faster, then it could mean that more people in the world could have access to an internet connection.
