Photo credit: Medium
The previous internet speed record of previous record of 178Tbps set a year ago has just been obliterated by a team of researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT). They managed to transfer data at an astonishing 319Tbps by using advanced fiber optic technology with a 4-core optical fiber of 0.125 mm standard outer diameter. Read more for a short news segment and a bonus video.

This speed was achieved by constructing an experimental recirculating transmission loop setup by combining two kinds of rare-earth-doped fiber amplifiers. The combination of erbium and thulium doped-fiber amplifiers and distributed Raman amplification allowed for a long-distance transmission over 1864-miles (3001-kilometers). Not only did this set a new speed record, but NICT researchers said the test was crucial to demonstrate how new fibers can meet the demand from an explosive increase in new data services.

The 4-core MCF with standard cladding diameter is attractive for early adoption of SDM fibers in high-throughput, long-distance links, since it is compatible with conventional cable infrastructure and expected to have mechanical reliability comparable to single-mode fibers,” said the Japanese research institute.

Bonus Video