- Researchers send data 4.5 million times faster than average UK home broadband speed of 69.4 Mbit/s
- Feat was achieved by opening new wavelength bands in fibre optic systems
- Could lead to faster broadband for domestic use
Ever get frustrated with the speed of your home broadband? Wish you could download even faster? How does 4.5 million times faster sound? That’s what scientists in the UK have just achieved.
Scientists at Aston University sent data at a speed that is 4.5 million times faster than the average UK home broadband, which is 69.4 Mbit/s (megabits per second), according to regulator Ofcom.
They achieved this rate – the fastest ever sent – by opening specific new wavelength bands that are not yet used in fibre optic systems. The academics transferred data at a rate of 301 terabits or 301,000,000 megabits per second, using a single, standard optical fibre.
Professor Wladek Forysiak from Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies and Dr Ian Phillips were part of the team that successfully transmitted the data. They worked in collaboration with researchers from National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan and Nokia Bell Labs in the USA.
The scientists used optical fibres, small tubular strands of glass that pass information using light and opened up new wavelength bands that are not yet used in fibre optic systems. Different wavelength bands are equivalent to different colours of light being transmitted down the optical fibre.
They did this by developing new devices called optical amplifiers and optical gain equalizers to access them.
Dr Phillips led the development of a management device, or optical processor, at Aston University. “Broadly speaking, data was sent via an optical fibre like a home or office internet connection,” he explained.
“However, alongside the commercially available C and L-bands, we used two additional spectral bands called E-band and S-band. Such bands traditionally haven’t been required because the C- and L-bands could deliver the required capacity to meet consumer needs.”
Professor Forysiak added: “By increasing transmission capacity in the backbone network, our experiment could lead to vastly improved connections for end users.
“This groundbreaking accomplishment highlights the crucial role of advancing optical fibre technology in revolutionising communication networks for faster and more reliable data transmission.”
Professor Forysiak that this is also more environmentally friendly than deploying more, newer fibres and cables since it makes greater use of the existing deployed fibre network. “Increasing its capacity to carry data and prolonging its useful life and commercial value.”
