Did Researchers Just Break the World Record for Fastest Data Transfer Rate?
Researchers for the UK’s UCL claim that they have achieved download speeds that equate to 1.125Tb/s over fiber optics.
The “Need for Speed” in the broadband world has been fueled by an internet that is become increasingly dependent upon a rapid connection.
Intranets, cloud service providers and local networks can also gain significant advantages, should 1Tb/s+ connections become the new normal in the future.
The research was led by Dr. Robert Maher, the leader of the Optical Networks Group at UCL.
“For comparison this is almost 50,000 times greater than the average speed of a UK broadband connection of 24 megabits per second (Mb/s), which is the current speed defining “superfast” broadband,” said Maher.
“To give an example, the data rate we have achieved would allow the entire HD Games of Thrones series to be downloaded within one second,” Maher added.
Could 1Tb/s become the new normal? Maher and his team concede that research into creating faster network connections is essential, due to the following factors:
- Digital Media Campaigns
- Public Cloud Connectivity
- Smart Devices
- E-Health Services
- The Emerging Internet of Things
Optical fibers are responsible for most of the data delivered to our computer screens everyday. Without ultra high speed internet, the future of online innovation could become hampered.
The team of researchers published their findings in Scientific Reports.
Phys.org says that the team used techniques from information theory and digital signal processing to build a customized communication system based on optical fiber. This system was equipped with multiple transmitting channels and a single receiver.
In addition, the team said that they used encoding techniques typically utilized in wireless connections that are not commonly used over fiber optic connections.
Researchers believe that that they can group several of these optical channels together to form a “Super-channel,” which can be used for bulk transfers of data between cities, countries or even continents.
