Engineers have set a new speed record for data transmission through a standard diameter optical fiber. By beaming 55 “modes” of signals down a single-core optical fiber, the team was able to transmit at a data rate of 1.53 petabits per second (Pbit/s).
To really understand just how fast that is, one petabit is equal to one million gigabits. Today’s home internet connections would be lucky to get a speed of one gigabit per second. In fact, it’s been estimated that the entire global internet bandwidth comes to just under 1 Pbit/s, meaning this fiber could handle all of it with room to spare.
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Technically, it’s not the fastest data transmission rate ever – that honor belongs to a recent optical chip that clocked a staggering 1.84 petabits per second. But that technology is still quite experimental, and much further from being commercialized.
Read more: New Atlas
