Imagine if you could download the whole of Netflix in 16 seconds.
Well, that dream could soon be a reality after Japanese researchers broke the internet speed record.
Scientists have achieved a speed of 1.02 petabits per second – or 1,020,000 gigabits.
That is 4,600,000 times faster than the UK’s average internet speed of 223 megabits per second.
They were able to reach this speed over a distance of 1,808 kilometres – breaking the world record set in October 2021.
The team at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) reached the speeds using a new 19-core fiber cable.
Their cable is so efficient it squeezes 19 separate light paths into the space typically used for one.
The breakthrough offers a glimpse into the future of internet connectivity and super high download speeds.
What it can achieve is staggering.
You could stream 10 million ultra-HD 8K videos at the same time.
The entirety of Wikipedia could be downloaded in one second. Now that will quench anyone’s thirst for knowledge.
In the future, these new internet speeds will make it possible to instantly stream huge AI models, and even stream VR and holographic videos.
But those looking to make some big downloads will have to be patient – it won’t be implementable overnight.
More research is needed to make the technology suitable for me and you to use on a daily basis.
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