Japan has shattered the internet speed record, achieving an astonishing 1.02 petabits per second (Pbps), the fastest ever recorded.
This breakthrough, announced by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), has the potential to completely redefine how the world transmits and consumes data.
Japan’s record was set using a special 19-core optical fibre, developed in partnership with Sumitomo Electric and European researchers.
What makes this achievement more remarkable is that the cable still maintains the standard width of existing fibres, just 0.125 mm, meaning this technology could, in theory, run on the current infrastructure without having to replace the entire global network.
This was not just a lab stunt either; the signal travelled over 1,800 kilometres, proving that ultra-high-speed internet could be possible across continents, not just across cities.
Is this speed like lightning?
In the digital world, yes, it is faster than lightning. To understand what 1.02 petabits per second means: 1 petabit = 1,000,000 gigabits
At this speed, you could transmit 127,500 gigabytes every second. That is equivalent to streaming over 10 million HD videos at the same time.
In real-world comparisons, this is roughly 3.5 million times faster than the average U.S. internet speed
