Scientists have once again managed to surpass the levels to which we are accustomed to reaching the highest performance and speed connections. In this case, they have managed to break the record for optical fibre transfer, reaching a level of 402 Tbps. This is one of the greatest achievements seen in the fibre sector and a good demonstration of how there is still room for improvement.
Scientists around the world are working tirelessly to push the limits of optical fibre transfer speeds. This time, it was experts from the British university of Aston, who wanted to surpass the figures achieved in the wavelength bands used by the same fibre cables we all have in our homes. The peculiarity is that, of course, instead of limiting themselves to just a few bands, in this case they have combined them all.
Surpassing his own record
This news may sound familiar to you. The reason is that in March of this year, these scientists already managed to break the speed record for data transmission. Not content with having reached 301 Tbps at the time, they wanted to put the test into practice again by making some adjustments and benefiting from a greater number of bands.
While traditional fibre connections use one or two bands, they used four bands for transmission. That gave them the previous record, but they knew they could fine-tune the machinery even further. So for this experiment they used all six wavelength bands. And, as expected, they managed to beat them.
This is how they have achieved it
Of course, implementing this idea was not easy. In order to use all six bands, they had to create a new transmission system that could handle it. Until now, none existed, so the process required a huge investment of effort. The goal was to be able to use the C and L bands, which are the most commonly used in domestic fiber connections, the S and E bands that were used in the previous experiment, and finally, the remaining bands: U and O.
In the process of building their system, they focused, above all, on creating devices that could amplify the signals of these two bands that they had not yet used. The result is what we have shared, a great step in the way in which fiber optics can be used beyond what operators around the world are doing at the moment.
What is more important of all is that these tests have been carried out on fibre optic installation cables that are already available. In other words, they have not had to create or carry out any installation to achieve these new speed levels. This is something that, without a doubt, opens many doors for operators to be able to offer faster connections in the future without having to make new installations.
The reason scientists are trying so hard to break the limits of fiber optics is that they are seeing how connections are becoming more and more saturated around the world. It is logical that, with the increase in the number of connections, the wavebands become more crowded. This causes speed levels to be hindered and the quality of services to be reduced. In order for fiber connections to continue to provide good performance in the future, telecommunications companies will have to resort to systems such as those this team is creating. In this way, all the waves will be used and the efficiency of the fiber will not be affected.
