Japan’s new web pace file makes at the moment’s broadband look historical

Over the previous 20 years, internet speeds have vastly improved due to advances in fiber know-how. Whereas gigabit web is changing into more common within the US, it nonetheless lags behind the speeds not too long ago achieved by researchers in Japan.

In response to the Nationwide Institute of Data and Communications Know-how (NICT) in Japan, it has set a brand new world file for web pace, reaching 1.02 petabits per second over a distance of 1,123 miles. That equals about 127,500 GB/s, and roughly the gap between Chicago and Dallas. With that pace, you would obtain Netflix’s total streaming library in only one second (through CNET). You’d additionally by no means have a difficulty downloading a 100GB online game ever once more.

Within the US, web pace is normally measured in megabits per second (Mbps). In case you convert Japan’s achievement, it equals roughly 1,020,000,000 Mbps. In response to Speedtest, the common fastened broadband web pace within the US is round 288 Mbps. So, the pace researchers in Japan have simply reached is greater than 3 million occasions sooner.

How did NICT researchers obtain this?

They used a 19-core optical fiber cable

Japan’s NICT achieved its new web pace file by growing an optical fiber with 19 cores, built-in right into a cable measuring simply 0.125mm in diameter. This dimension is customary for fiber optic cables used globally, indicating potential for widespread adoption attributable to its compatibility with current community infrastructure, like undersea cables.

“The analysis of ultra-high-capacity transmission utilizing coupled 19-core optical fibers and superior optical amplification has significantly superior the event of know-how for the belief of high-capacity, long-distance optical communication infrastructure sooner or later,” the NICT report states.

This is not the primary time the NICT has damaged a file both. Final 12 months, it shattered the web pace file with a pace of fifty,250 GB/s. Now in 2025, it has damaged its file by over double.

With the worldwide demand for increased web bandwidth rising — particularly for cloud storage, AI, and high-quality streaming — the NICT’s breakthrough marks an important step in addressing the growing want for extra bandwidth. In response to Nielsen’s Law, international bandwidth calls for have elevated by 50 p.c yearly since 1983, indicating that in the future, 1.02 petabits per second could also be wanted.

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