China has achieved a speed sufficient to transmit 20 thousand films in one second
Chinese researchers have reached a total optical fiber data transmission speed of 3.2 petabits per second. According to their calculations, such a speed is theoretically sufficient to transmit data equivalent to the size of more than 20 thousand 4K movies in one second. The technology has not yet been implemented in commercial networks.
China achieves speed capable of transmitting 20,000 movies per second
Chinese specialists conducted a real-time bidirectional data transmission test in a fiber containing 24 optical cores. The experiment achieved a total transmission speed of 3.2 petabits per second, which equals 3 million 200 thousand gigabits.
Researchers evaluate this result as a new world record for real-time bidirectional data transmission capacity over a single optical fiber.
Specialists from the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technologies and Networks within the China Information and Communication Technology Group (CICT), Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology participated in the experiment.
A 10.3-kilometer-long multi-core optical fiber was used for the test. Data was transmitted through it simultaneously in both directions. The announced figure of 3.2 petabits represents the total capacity of this transmission.
The main feature of the system is the presence of 24 separate cores inside a single optical fiber. Each of them serves as an independent path for data transmission via light signals.
Researchers used three wavelength bands designated as S, C, and L. This approach was combined with the technology of parallel data transmission along different cores. As a result, thousands of parallel transmission channels were formed within a single fiber.
Commercial coherent optical modules and advanced signal shaping methods were used for stable, real-time data transmission. Optimizing the arrangement of the cores helped reduce crosstalk between them.
According to the comparison provided by the researchers, the capacity of conventional single-core G.652 optical fiber systems operating in the C and L bands is approximately 100 terabits per second. The overall transmission capacity of the new system is 32 times higher than that figure.
Additionally, the team tested real-time data transmission at speeds of 400 gigabits per second per wavelength in the S band, and 1.2 terabits per second in the C and L bands using self-developed optical modules.
The same research team had presented a bidirectional transmission result of 2.5 petabits per second on a 24-core optical fiber in March of this year. The new figure is approximately 28 percent higher than that.