HardwareInternet speeds 1.2 million times faster than the US average are possible using the current fibre optic cable network. How does 301,000,000 Mbps sound?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
HardwareInternet speeds 1.2 million times faster than the US average are possible using the current fibre optic cable network. How does 301,000,000 Mbps sound?When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Andrew Brookes via Getty Images)
Underneath my road lies a cable on which, like many, my whole digital world relies. Fibre optic cables have become increasingly standard for modern high-speed internet connections, but even these super-highways of speed are limited in their capacity. Thanks to the work of some British researchers, however, those very same cables may be able to provide connection speeds that are massively faster than those we currently rely on.
A team of scientists and researchers at Aston University have developed an optical processor that takes advantage of previously untapped frequency bands, allowing standard fibre cables to transmit data at a much higher speed than previously thought (viaFudzilla). The researchers managed to achieve a data transfer rate of up to 301 terabits per second through standard fibre optic cables, pointing to a potential future where our home connection speeds could achieve speeds previously thought unfeasible without having to modify cables already installed.
Theaverage broadband speed in the UKas of last year was said to be 69.4 Mbps, or megabits per second, whereas the median speed in the US wasquoted as 242.38 Mbpsin February of this year. The touted 301 terabits per second equates to a staggering 301,000,000 Mbps, which means this new speed would be around 4.5 million times faster than an average UK connection, and 1.2 million times faster than a US connection.
Currently, fibre cables utilise what are referred to as “C” and “L” bands in the electromagnetic spectrum. The new optical processor, however, makes use of the previously untapped “E” and “S” bands to take advantage of huge amounts of previously unused capacity.
The processor’s creator,Dr Ian Phillips, said:“Over the last few years Aston University has been developing optical amplifiers that operate in the E-band, which sits adjacent to the C-band in the electromagnetic spectrum but is about three times wider. Before the development of our device, no one had been able to properly emulate the E-band channels in a controlled way.”
Your next upgrade(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
Your next upgrade
(Image credit: Future)Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
(Image credit: Future)
Best CPU for gaming: The top chips from Intel and AMD.Best gaming motherboard: The right boards.Best graphics card: Your perfect pixel-pusher awaits.Best SSD for gaming: Get into the game ahead of the rest.
Professor Wladek Forysiak, a member of the team developing the new tech,added:“This ground-breaking accomplishment highlights the crucial role of advancing optical fibre technology in revolutionising communication networks for faster and more reliable data transmission.”
“It is also a ‘greener solution’ than deploying more, newer fibres and cables since it makes greater use of the existing deployed fibre network, increasing its capacity to carry data and prolonging its useful life & commercial value.”
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