Dive Brief:
- Last week, United Kingdom researchers broke the world record for the fastest data speed.
- Collaborating with industry partners, scientists at University College London and Aston University achieved a 1.125 terabits per second data speed, which is approximately 90,000 times faster than the internet speed in American homes, according to an International Business Times report.
- With internet speeds that fast, someone could download every episode of Game of Thrones in HD "in less than a second," the IBT said.
Dive Insight:
The internet has come a long way since the days of dial-up, and researchers have continued to try and increase internet speeds. With new data transfer techniques the question of real-world implementation arises, though it is likely that businesses and consumers alike will be willing to pay for more internet power.
Because the record was reached under lab conditions, the average consumer will not have access to such powerful download capabilities anytime soon. To achieve the record, the scientists with the Unloc program used wireless network techniques and applied them to fiber optics.
The group of researchers attached the network transmitter directly to the receiver, which would be extremely difficult outside a lab considering that fiber optic cables run under large bodies of water, the IBT reports. The next goal for the scientists is to use the same technique over longer distances.
If, one day, the average consumer can download 1.125 terabits per second, storage becomes a problem. For example, a user could download enough content to fill an iMac with a 1 TB hard drive in under eight seconds.
