Researchers in China say they have transmitted data at 3.2 Pb/s through a 24-core optical fiber, setting a new real-time speed record. The figure exceeds the team's earlier 2.5 Pb/s result, which was set this year using similar 24-core fiber technology.
The project involved specialists from the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technology, China Information and Communication Technologies Group, Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology. Their system combined spatial division multiplexing with S+C+L multi-band transmission. Spatial division multiplexing divides information into separate channels within one fiber so multiple independent data streams can travel at the same time, while the S, C and L bands use different wavelength ranges to carry information across a wider part of the optical spectrum.
Combining the techniques created engineering challenges, particularly interference between neighboring channels carrying simultaneous signals through the fiber network and equipment. The team also had to manage differing specifications across the three wavelength bands without letting those variations undermine transmission performance. The test used hardware architectures described as compliant with commercial requirements and operated continuously in real time, a condition that distinguishes the result from demonstrations relying on experimental equipment or signal-processing arrangements developed specifically for laboratory research.
The Hubei provincial government website compared the capacity with internet access for about 3.2 million households using separate 1 Gbps connections simultaneously. It also described the rate as sufficient to download more than 20,000 4K movies within one second under ideal conditions. Those comparisons describe theoretical network capacity, not evidence that individual households could receive such speeds through ordinary broadband subscriptions.
The new figure is not the highest speed reported for transmission through a 24-core optical fiber. Laboratory research has reached 5.29 Pb/s using comparable multi-core fiber, more than two petabits above the Chinese group's latest result. Such experiments may depend on advanced processing methods and specialist laboratory equipment that remain unsuitable for routine network deployment.
The Chinese group's reported use of commercially compliant hardware is a significant feature of its claim, though it does not establish immediate commercial availability. There is no official deployment schedule, pricing information or independent assessment of performance during sustained operation under everyday network conditions, so it is not certain that the technology can move beyond controlled testing into dependable telecommunications networks at scale. The research does show that combining multiple fiber channels and wavelength bands can deliver substantial capacity under practical test conditions.
Sources: TechRadar.