Researchers have successfully sent data via a fibre optic cable at a speed which is around 4.5 million times faster than the average broadband download speed in the UK.
The team, based at Aston University and working in collaboration with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan and Nokia Bell Labs in the US, were able to record a speed of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second.
The average home broadband speed is 69.4 megabits per second, according to the latest data from Ofcom.
The data was sent using a standard optical fibre, but the researchers used wavelength bands that had not been previously used in fibre optic communications.
Fibre optic transmission sends information via pulses of light that are sent along a glass or plastic fibre.
This type of data transfer is already faster than traditional copper cabling, which uses electrical signals to transmit information.
Aston University researcher Dr Ian Philips commented that the data was sent using an optical fibre that was essentially the same as those already commonly used in home or office internet connections.
Optical amplifier allows new bands to be used for data transmission
Dr Philips likened the use of different infrared wavelengths to using different colours of light, although fibre optic transmission does not use visible light.
The technology commonly uses commercially available wavelengths known as C-band and L-band, which have been able to deliver the capacity demanded by consumers.
These wavelengths are typically used because they have been the most stable option, resulting in a minimal loss of data during transmission.
Demand for data is increasing all the time, however, and the use of two additional spectral bands – known as E-band and S-band – could dramatically increase speeds and capacity,
E-band is around three times wider than the wavelengths currently used, but no one had previously been able to emulate such a connection in a controlled and usable way.
The researchers were able to do so by designing two new devices they call optical amplifiers and optical gain equalizers.
These allowed both E-band and the adjacent S-band to be used to send data incredibly quickly.
One of the most important aspects of the breakthrough is that it allows for a potentially huge increase in speed and capacity without having to change the majority of existing fibre optic infrastructure.
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