Engineers from Japan have achieved a groundbreaking feat in data transfer speeds, setting a new world record by increasing the speed by 25% compared to the previous benchmark. Using standard fiber optic cables, the engineers established a connection with a data transfer rate of 402 Tbps (terabytes per second). To put this into perspective, a typical modern AAA game over 100 GB in size will load faster than you can blink.
This incredible record was achieved by a team of engineers from Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). The technology used to reach this 402 Tbps milestone is advanced but based on well-established principles. The team utilized 50 km of fiber optic cables along with multiple transmission bands, signal boosters, and equalizers to maintain signal integrity.
Understanding the Implications
The record speed of 402 Tbps, equivalent to 50.25 TB/s, surpasses the previous world record by about 25%. The total signal bandwidth reached an impressive 37.6 THz. These numbers are so vast that it’s challenging to grasp their full implications. For instance, with this connection, you could download the entire Red Dead Redemption 2 game (120GB) in just 2.4 milliseconds. Imagine being able to download your entire Steam library almost instantaneously.
Unfortunately, you shouldn’t expect such a high-speed connection to appear on your computer just yet. Most personal computers still only support 1 Gbps Ethernet connections, with top models offering 10 Gbps connections. Even the latter is nothing compared to the 50 TB/s achieved by NICT engineers. Moreover, there are currently no SSDs that could support such data transfer speeds, adds NIXsolutions.
This breakthrough, while not immediately applicable to consumer technology, marks a significant step forward in data transfer capabilities. As technology continues to advance, we’ll keep you updated on further developments and potential applications of this incredible achievement.