According to TechSpot , researchers from Aston University (UK) have achieved a breakthrough in transmitting data over fiber optic cables, with speeds of up to 301 million Mbps. This number is 4.5 million times faster than the average home broadband speed in the UK, opening up the potential to upgrade fiber optic networks to unimaginable speed thresholds.

The record speeds come from using new wavelengths that have never been used in traditional fibre optic networks. Professor Wladek Forysiak and Dr Ian Phillips from Aston’s Institute of Photonic Technology have teamed up to exploit the E and S wavelength bands, in addition to the already popular C and L bands.

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Using new wavelengths increases data transmission capacity while eliminating the need to replace the entire existing fiber infrastructure, offering a potential solution for upgrading telecommunications networks in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

While the speed achieved is impressive, it is still not the fastest. Two years ago, Japanese researchers set a world record of 1.02 petabits (more than 1 billion Mbps) using a four-core fiber optic cable.

Aston University's breakthrough has opened up a new direction for upgrading fiber optic networks to meet the increasing demand for data transmission.