Do you remember the days when a song took a long time to download? If you’re too young, maybe not. Well, that could be part of an extinct past. Especially now that a new internet speed record has been set. It would help you download all of the Netflix in a second.
Downloading…
This was achieved by a team of researchers from University College London. This corresponds to a data transfer speed of 178 terabits per second. Double the capacity of current systems. With such a speed, you can download the entire catalog of Netflix movies and series in less than a second. The study’s authors were delighted with the results. During the experiment, the London scientists used amplifiers to improve the way light transmits data through optical fibers. Signal combination patterns were created. They managed to change the phase, brightness and polarization of the wavelengths. This, in turn, allowed them to pack more information into a wider spectrum of light.
The current infrastructure uses a limited frequency bandwidth of 4.5 terahertz. The study authors used a width of 16.8 terahertz to increase signal strength and speed. The advantage of the new technology is that it can be used in existing infrastructures. The amplifiers only need to be updated at intervals of 40 to 100 kilometers. It’s also accessible technology. It would cost almost 30 times less than installing new optical fibers.
The future is fast
The research team was led by Lidia Galdino. It broke the previous record set by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technologies of Japan in April. “Regardless of the COVID-19 crisis, internet traffic has increased exponentially over the past ten years. All of this increased demand for data is related to the decrease in the cost per bit, ”explained Galdino.
The development of new technologies is critical to sustain this cost-cutting trend. A growing demand for data speed will come. The new internet speed record provides clues as to what service providers should be looking for.
Soon it will seem like the time of the dinosaurs to wait more than a second to download something from the internet.
