Fast fiber-optic communication is becoming more and more widespread, but it also has limitations. The work of British researchers will allow these cables to provide much faster data transmission…
Researchers at Aston University have developed an optical processor that takes advantage of previously unused frequency bands. They managed to achieve data transmission speeds of up to 301 Terabits per second over a standard fiber optic cable. The connection can be accelerated without replacing existing cables…
Currently, fiber optic cables use the so-called “C” and “L” bands in the electromagnetic spectrum. However, the new optical processor exploits the previously unused bands «E» and «S».
«For the past several years, Aston University has been developing optical amplifiers in the E-band, which is next to the C-band in the electromagnetic spectrum but about three times wider. Until our device was developed, no one could properly emulate E-band channels in a controlled way,» says the processor’s creator, Dr. Ian Phillips.
«It is a «more environmentally friendly» solution than deploying more newer fibers and cables because it makes greater use of the existing deployed fiber network, increasing its data transmission capacity and extending its lifetime and commercial value», — adds Prof. Vladek Forysiak from the development team.
The average broadband speed in the UK as of last year was 69.4 Mbps, while in February of this year the average speed in the US was 242.38 Mbps. The 301 Tbps claimed is 301,000,000 Mbps, 4.5 million times faster than the average connection in the UK and 1.2 million times faster than the US.
Source: PC Gamer