Today’s fiber optic Internet connections are highly efficient. Home users can surf the Internet, stream videos, and play games online, and businesses can keep their businesses running. But as content becomes more complex, faster connections will be required.
A group of researchers in Australia developed an Internet connection that reaches 44.2 terabits per second. To give you an idea: the average user in the United States uses about 50.2 megabits per second; that’s about a million times slower.
The team, consisting of researchers from Monash University, Swinburne University, and RMIT, achieved a connectivity rate of 44.2 terabits by using an optical device called a micro comb, which replaced the 80 standard lasers in modern telecommunications equipment.
A micro comb “produces very sharp and equidistant frequency lines on a micro photonic chip. This technology is compatible with the fiber optic lines used today, which means that the current Internet infrastructure would not need to be upgraded to reach these speeds.
“Our research shows that today’s fibers will be the foundation for tomorrow’s communications networks,” said Bill Corcoran of Monash University.
Although the average Internet user today probably doesn’t need a 44.2 Tbps connection, as we mentioned at the beginning of the note, it’s only a matter of time before he needs one. So that is not a bad thing to know.
What do you think about this? Do you want your Internet connection to be faster?
Source: Engadget