• NICT researchers achieved 430Tbps over conventional optical fiber
• New approach used nearly 20% less overall transmission bandwidth
• Multiple modes transmitted simultaneously in the O-band and ESCL bands

Imagine downloading the 80GB Battlefield 6 in a matters of milliseconds – at least 100x faster than the time it takes you to blink – well, this is what the world’s latest internet speed orecord ffers.

Researchers linked to the UK’s Aston Unviersity and Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology reported a transmission rate of 430Tbps using standard telecom optical fiber.

The demonstration surpassed the group’s earlier 402Tbps record while relying on widely deployed single-mode fiber rather than bespoke cabling.

How capacity increased without new cables

The experiment focused on improving spectral efficiency and achieving higher throughput while using nearly 20% less overall bandwidth.

The approach builds on standard fiber already installed across global networks, which collectively exceed several billion kilometers.

By exploiting wavelengths below the traditional cutoff point, the team transmitted data using multiple modes in parallel while maintaining compatibility with existing systems.

The researchers said this method extends the usable capacity of standard-compliant fibers beyond their original design limits.

Compared with earlier work, the emphasis shifted away from consuming additional spectrum toward extracting more data from the same physical medium.

The fiber milestone follows other high-profile demonstrations that highlight diverging paths toward extreme data rates.

Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology, working with Aircision, previously transmitted 5.7 terabits per second wirelessly over 4.6 kilometers using focused infrared beams.

That experiment relied on free-space optical communication to create parallel, interference-free links where physical fiber would be difficult to deploy.

In a separate laboratory test, NICT and its partners also demonstrated 1.02 petabits per second over 1,808 kilometers using a 19-core fiber with standard diameter, establishing a capacity-distance record without changing cable size.

According to the NICT researchers, their latest study presented at the 51st European Conference on Optical Communication in Denmark shows standard-compliant cutoff-shifted optical fibers can carry far more data than initially intended.

By using wavelengths below the cutoff point, data can be transmitted simultaneously in multiple modes, improving spectral efficiency.

In this experiment, the team carried out three-mode transmission in the O-band while the fundamental mode operated in the ESCL bands.

These experiments collectively suggest that existing optical infrastructure still has untapped capacity, although all results were achieved under controlled conditions.

The relevance to future wireless research, including work often discussed in relation to wireless 7G, remains indirect and largely exploratory.

Although the records demonstrate technical feasibility, translating laboratory achievements into resilient, economical networks will depend on factors beyond raw transmission speed.

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