Japan sets new record, brings world closer to internet 100,000 times faster than current speeds

Editor’s Note (6/6/22): A previous version of this story used incorrect units of data. PB has been changed to PiB, to refer to petabit. Also updated is the term gigabyte (GB) to gigabit (GiB).

The world is about to get a whole lot faster — 100,000 times faster to be exact, thanks to researchers in Japan who have set a new record for data transmission speeds.

The Network Research Institute at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) reported on May 30 that they had successfully demonstrated the world’s first transmission speed of 1.02 petabit per second in a multi-core fiber (MCF).

Petabit (PiB) refers to the unit of data, and 1 PiB is equivalent to 1,000,000 gigabits (GiB). The new record could usher in new home internet speeds that are 100,000 times faster than any of the current fastest services on the market.

With this power, 1 petabit per second would mean 10 million channels of 8K broadcasting per second, making live coverage easily achievable from all corners of the world with virtually no lapse.

With 1.02 PiB traveling over 32 miles per second, we could soon send 127,500 GiB of data every second.

This was not the first time that researchers have tested petabit speeds. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, technology giant Intel broadcasted live coverage of 19 days of the event to Brazil, Japan and Intel sites in the U.S. (by invitation only).

Global content technology strategist and 8K lead at Intel Ravindra “Ravi” Vehal claimed, “We are way beyond proof of concept.”

The newest record set by NICT is not only faster than previous attempts, it transmits data using a standard optic fiber cable, meaning it is technology that is potentially available for immediate and wide use.

Featured Image via Wall Street Journal

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