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World’s fastest internet speed ever, 44.2 terabits per second (Tbps) recorded in Australia


Soliton Crystal Micro-Comb optical chip fastest interrnet

With the tech world advancing every day, we get to see breathtaking innovations from time to time. The CES 2020 event was packed with sci-fi tech that we normally see in movies. With the introduction of a 5G network in different parts of the world, the network speed climbed the uphill. It tops out at a theoretical 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). But now researchers in Australia have set a new “internet speed” world record of 44.2 terabits per second using a single optical chip. Yeah, you read that right, its 44.2 terabits per second (Tbps).

44.2 terabits per second (Tbps) Internet Speed

With the use of single novel optical chip researchers in Australia able to boost the Internet speed drastically. They have termed this new chip as ‘Soliton Crystal Micro-Comb’. With such, users can download 1000 HD movies in a fraction of second. Unlike other demonstrations —which are lab-confined research— this massive speed was studied using existing communications infrastructure where they were able to efficiently load-test the network. This new technology can support the high-speed internet connections of 1.8 million households in Melbourne as well as billions across the world during peak periods.

Soliton Crystal Micro-Comb optical chip fastest interrnet
The Soliton Crystal Micro-comb chip over a $2 coin.

This optical chip operates by splitting the light running through already laid Internet fibers into 80 unique channels. For the test, scientists used nearly 50 miles of existing optical fibers in the Melbourne metropolitan area.

“It consists of a very low loss ring engineered to support pulses of light that stabilize into chains like atoms in a crystal. This soliton crystal micro-comb is much easier to get into a stable state than other types of combs and is very stable once it is there,” Arnan Mitchell, distinguished professor, and director of the Micro Nano Research Facility at RMIT University, told UPI in an email.

optical chip fastest internet australia coronavirus
Conceptual diagram of a soliton crystal micro-comb communications experiment. Source: Nature

“We’ve developed something scalable to meet future needs. And it’s not just Netflix we’re talking about here – it’s the broader scale of what we use our communication networks for”, said Dr. Bill Corcoran, co-lead author of the study and lecturer in electrical and computer systems at Monash University.

The researchers expect the production of chips could be quickly scaled, as the chip is made using fabrication techniques that are commonly used in the manufacture of large quantities of commercial computer chips. This is great news for all of the news. The outbreak of COVID-19 has all of us working from our homes. The use of the Internet has increased at such a number and the world’s internet has experienced immense pressure. The IPSs are having trouble keeping up with the bandwidth. However, with this new technology the world might not have to face the clogged internet issue in the future.


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