Japanese Institute National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT), along with Eindhoven University of Technology and the University of L’Aquila have achieved a game-changing transmission speed of 22.9 petabits in fiber optics. The test demonstrated the monstrous speed capacity in a single fiber cable with multiple fibers.
This is a new record in fiber cable transmission speed. The previous record was 10.66 Pbs. The 22.9 Pbs is 1000 times more speed than what most regular users get. Most households still run an internet connection of around 100 Mbps.
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NICT breaks fiber transmission speed- gets 22.9 Pbs
This milestone was achieved by leveraging the latest technologies with Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) with the former using multiple multicore fibers and other transmission technologies to function with more than 100 spatial channels. These are then incorporated with multi-bandwidth WDM. The researchers involved in this test merged a 38-core, three-mode cable via a multi-band compatible MIMO receiver with each core having the capacity to deliver data between 0.3 to 0.7 Pbs.
This was the first time various types of multiplexing techniques were deployed. The results were submitted at Glasgow’s 49th European Conference on Optical Communications.
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Ready for consumer-level service
This multiplexing practice and other technologies employed in the test are ready to be integrated into the global network of fiber optic infrastructure however, it will require a series of upgrades to the current telecommunication centers that use large-capacity fiber cables.
The infra as demonstrated in the test can carry three times more the capacity for data traffic. But given that fiber transmission records continue to be broken, it’s a legitimate question about which technology will be integrated into the global fiber network.
The need for faster fiber speed continues to spiral with AI, XR, VR, etc. For most normal users, a 100 Mbps connection is enough but the quality that it involves such as low latency and consistency may be delivered only through next-generation technologies.