Scientists leverage new fiber wavelength band to achieve 301,000 Gbps internet

British scientists say they have developed a way to beam internet speeds at 301,000 Gbps over a single standard optical fiber.

Researchers at Aston University achieved this by taking advantage of a new wavelength band not used in current fiber optic cables – essentially an additional color.

“Broadly speaking, the data was sent over fiber optics, similar to your home or office internet connection,” said Ian Phillips, one of the Aston University researchers on the team.

(Credit: Aston University)

Other scientists have successfully transmitted even faster internet speeds of over 1 million Gbps by effectively splitting light into more wavelengths to increase data transmission speeds. However, according to a research paper from the Aston University team, these solutions may require an upgrade of the entire fiber optic network.

“In contrast, MBT (multiband transmission) requires system upgrades only at the node and operator level, although the overall bandwidth is limited to that of the installed standard single mode fiber (SSMF). ” the researchers wrote. They added that the experiment was conducted through a 50-kilometre-long optical fiber.

Specifically, the team developed an “optical amplifier and optical gain equalizer” that can utilize the E-band and S-band in addition to the already commercially available C-band and L-band. “Until our device was developed, no one had been able to properly emulate an E-band channel in a controlled way,” says Phillips.

This research promises to provide ISPs with a more affordable way to upgrade the speed of their existing fiber optic networks. Aston University said: “By using more of the available spectrum and increasing system capacity, we can utilize not only the traditional C-band, but also other bands such as L, S and now E-band. , which reduces the cost of providing this bandwidth,” he added. Professor Vladek Folisiak. “This is also a ‘greener solution’ than introducing more new fiber.”