New scientific breakthrough could drastically speed up the internet

One of the biggest first-world probs—a slow internet connection—could soon be a relic of the past, thanks to a new breakthrough from Japanese researchers.

Scientists recently transmitted 125,000 GB/second of data over a distance of 1,120 miles, more than doubling the previous world record for fastest internet speed, according to research presented at a recent conference in San Francisco.

• The figure is ~4 million times the average US broadband performance (289 mbps), and would allow someone to download all of English-language Wikipedia ~5,000 times per second.

But while the number itself is remarkable, scientists say the novel method they used is the truly exciting part.

How it happened

The researchers developed a new form of optical-fiber cable that squeezes 19 separate fibers into a diameter of just 0.005 inches—the same thickness that most existing single-fiber cables use today.

• This means the Japanese researchers’ new optical fiber has 19x more data transmission capacity compared to standard technology.
• It also means their new cable can easily integrate into existing fiber-optic infrastructure across the world.

Looking ahead…The researchers’ next goal is to refine the method so that it can be incorporated by telecommunications providers. If implemented widely, the cables would make downloading movies and large files near-instantaneous. Or put another way: you could download The Flash in a…really short amount of time.