An international research team led by the Photonic Network Laboratory of Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) has set a new world record for data transmission speed of 402 terabits per second using commercially-available optical fibre.

This new record eclipses the team’s previous record, announced in March 2024, of 301 terabits per second using a single standard optical fibre.

To put this new record-breaking speed into context, a data-rate of 402 terabits per second would enable a Netflix user to download all currently available films on its streaming service in less than a second.

Put another way, compared to Netflix’s current internet connection speed recommendations – 3 Mbit/s or higher – for watching an HD movie, this speed is over 100 million times faster.

The researchers achieved this feat by constructing a optical transmission system capable of covering all six wavelength bands (O,E,S,C,L and U) used in standard optical communication...