Fiber optic connection is the standard for laying networks. But it has a drawback: a drop in speed when the route is over 1000 km long. Japanese scientists managed to fix this and transmit 1.02 petabits of data per second over a distance of 1808 km.
If we translate this volume into content units, then in just one second the researchers “pumped” about 10,000 films in 4K resolution through a 19-core fiber optic cable. The record was set by an international research team led by the Photonic Networks Laboratory of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan with the participation of Sumitomo Electric Industries.
The problem with transmitting information over long distances is signal attenuation and interference, which increases with distance. To solve this problem, the authors of the study developed a special type of cable. Each fiber transmits data independently, and to prevent the signal from weakening, it is amplified simultaneously in two different light ranges (C and L).
A 19-channel receiver and a digital processor with multiple inputs and outputs (MIMO) are used for amplification. It is worth noting that the 1808 km long cable was not physically used: it was imitated by an array of recirculation loops.
According to scientists, the achievement is especially relevant in anticipation of the introduction of 6G, the development of neural networks and the Internet of Things. There is no information yet on when the technology will be implemented in practice.