Ilaria Rosella Pagliaro Japanese researchers have achieved a record-breaking 1.02 petabit-per-second internet speed, marking a leap toward ultra-fast, long-distance data networks.
In a quiet lab tucked away in Japan, researchers at the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have shattered every previous benchmark in data transmission. Their achievement? Transmitting 127,500 gigabytes per second over a distance of more than 1,120 miles (1,800 kilometers)—roughly the same span as between Chicago and Dallas.
They unveiled this stunning accomplishment at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference held in San Francisco this past April. The headline number—1.02 petabits per second—more than doubles the previous world record and is over three million times faster than the average home internet speed in the United States.
According to the NICT team, this isn’t just an academic milestone. It’s “a fundamental step toward the development of scalable, ultra-high-capacity networks” that can meet the global explosion in data demand.
To put this speed in relatable terms: at 1.02 petabits per second, you could download Netflix’s entire content library in under a second. Or, if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, the entire Internet Archive—millions of books, videos, and web pages—could be in your hands in less than four minutes.
The secret lies in the fiber
Behind this leap forward is a piece of technology that, at first glance, might seem unassuming: a fiber optic cable with 19 cores—essentially 19 independent glass channels—packed inside a strand just 0.005 inches thick (0.125 millimeters), which happens to be the same diameter as standard fiber cables already running beneath our oceans and through the world’s skyscrapers.
The brilliance lies in its total compatibility with current infrastructure. In other words, there’s no need to rip out and replace millions of miles of cable. These new fibers can be integrated directly into the systems we already have, making the transition to ultra-fast internet not only possible—but practical.
As noted in the NICT’s official report:
“Research on ultra-large-capacity transmission with 19-core coupled fibers and advanced optical amplifiers has accelerated the development of long-distance, high-capacity optical communication.”
To translate: this new cable system moves vast amounts of data while minimizing signal loss and interference—common obstacles when transmitting across great distances. That’s been made possible thanks to powerful amplifiers and cutting-edge signal processing techniques.
To simulate real-world conditions, the NICT researchers had the data travel 21 consecutive transmission sections, replicating a journey of over 1,120 miles (1,800 kilometers).
Preparing for the data tsunami
For most of us, internet speed means how fast a video loads or how quickly our photos sync to the cloud. But the digital landscape is changing in ways we rarely stop to consider.
Demand for bandwidth is soaring. According to Nielsen’s Law, high-end user internet speeds have increased by an average of 50% per year since the 1980s. This relentless surge is straining the backbone of the modern world—cloud computing, AI systems, autonomous vehicles, and videoconferencing all depend on a digital infrastructure that’s already close to its limits.
That’s why this Japanese innovation matters. What makes it truly groundbreaking is that it achieves such speeds across distances comparable to transcontinental and submarine cable systems.
Right now, over 870,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) of submarine fiber optic cables weave together the global internet. Replacing them outright would be a logistical nightmare. But upgrading them with these new ultra-capable, backward-compatible lines? That’s a game-changing prospect.
Just two years ago, the same NICT team managed similar speeds—but only over a third of the distance. Tripling the range and doubling the speed in such a short time hints at something profound: we’re nowhere near the ceiling of what fiber optics can do.
The radical internet we didn’t know we needed
Let’s be clear—this isn’t going to show up in your living room tomorrow. The record still awaits independent verification, and widespread adoption will take time. But the path forward is now visible.
And it’s not just about faster video calls or quicker downloads.
The internet of the future will be radically fast—so fast that our current definitions of speed might soon feel quaint. And if the pace of innovation continues, that future might arrive sooner than we expect.
Fonte: NICT
