With improvements in current, internet-based technologies, we are rapidly moving towards a digital society, and the necessity for high internet speeds is becoming more crucial than ever. While corporations like Facebook strive to use robots to offer high-speed internet to all locations, Japan recently set a new world record for the fastest internet speed ever recorded.
The 4-Core Optical Fiber Network in Japan
Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) developed a new 4-core optical cable capable of delivering internet rates of up to 319 gigabytes per second (Tbps). Yes, that is about twice as fast as the previous record of 178 Tbps, set in August of last year.
The researchers recently issued a news statement announcing their accomplishment. “NICT has designed a long-distance transmission system around a 4-core optical fibre with a standard cladding diameter to leverage wider transmission bandwidth,” according to the press statement. The researchers added four cores to the fibre optic connection.
The researchers also highlight that even when information and data were transported over lengthy distances of up to 3,001 kilometres, the internet speed did not diminish or slow down. It’s worth noting, though, that the researchers used coiled cabling to replicate the long-distance system in the lab.
What Can 319 Tbps Internet Speeds Get You?
Now, for those of you who are wondering what fast internet speeds could enable you to achieve, let me give you a quick example. With 319 Tbps internet speed, you can download more than 7,000 high-definition movies in less than a second, according to Engadget. As you might expect, with such high-speed internet, you can download all of the movies in Netflix’s catalogue in less than a second. According to RealGood, the library has roughly 3,781 titles.
The 4-core optical fibre, on the other hand, was not created by the researchers to allow you to download entire libraries of movies and TV series. They point out that the high-speed internet network was designed to send large amounts of useful data over vast distances.
Furthermore, the researchers state that the 4-core optical fibre technology requires further development before being utilised in the real world. Furthermore, building such a network on a wide scale might be rather costly. The good news is that the new 4-core lines will fit within “standard cladding,” implying that they will be supported by existing infrastructure.
As a result, the researchers will continue to develop on the new system in the future. Nonetheless, it will be some time before such high-speed internet becomes commonplace in the real world. And when that day arrives, you’ll be able to download all of your favourite movies, TV shows, and games in no time.