Researchers from Japan have set a new record speed of 1.02 petabits per second (Pbit / s). Better yet, the breakthrough was achieved with fiber-optic cables that must be compatible with existing infrastructure.
Even NASA will get “only” 400 Gbps when ESnet6 is deployed in 2023. At 1 Pbit / s, it is theoretically possible to broadcast 10 million channels with a resolution of 8K, according to the team.
The new record was set by researchers from Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) using new technologies: optical fiber contains four cores – glass tubes that transmit signals – instead of the usual one. Bandwidth has been expanded to a record 20 THz thanks to a technology known as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
This band consists of 801 wave channels divided into three bands. With some other new optical amplification and signal modulation technologies, the team reached a record speed of 1.02 Pbit / s, transmitting data over 51.7 km of fiber optic cables.