Group of researchers in Australia have managed to run the internet at a mind-boggling speed of 44.2Tb/ps which is the fastest recorded speed in history. With this speed, the researchers claim you can download 1000 high-definition movies in a split second. The project test was run by researchers from Monash, Swinburne and RMIT universities. They claim to have got this speed from a single optical chip. The research team LED is by Dr Bill Corcoran (Monash), Professor Arnan Mitchell from RMIT and David Moss from Swinburne.
The researchers say during peak time, this capacity can support high-speed internet access for over 1.8 million houses in Melbourne as well as billions of other people across the world. “We’re currently getting a sneak-peak of how the infrastructure for the internet will hold up in two to three years’ time, due to the unprecedented number of people using the internet for remote work, socialising and streaming, Dr Bill Corcoran, Lecturer – Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, Monash University.
Usually, tests at this level are done within a laboratory but this test was done using the existing communication infrastructure available to all telecom players. The researchers were able to load-test it on the network, the group said.
How the test was done?
Researchers installed 76.6km of ‘dark’ optical fibres between RMIT’s Melbourne City Campus and Monash University’s Clayton Campus. The optical fibres were provided by Australia’s Academic Research Network.
As per arelease, the group used a new device that replaces 80 lasers with one single piece of equipment known as a micro-comb, which is smaller and lighter than existing telecommunications hardware. It was planted into and load-tested using existing infrastructure, which mirrors that used by the National Broadband Network (NBN).”
They believe the results they’ve achieved will help the world broaden its scale for offering internet. They also believe data speeds like this can support self-driving cars, advancement in medicine, education and e-commerce industries.