German Scientists Transfer 700 DVDs of Data in One Second

[hech54]

Computer users who despair over slow internet connections should take heart - German scientists have broken a speed record, sending 700 DVDs' worth of data via a single laser beam, in one second.


The scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) said this week they had broken the world record by sending data at a speed of 26 terabits per second.

The data, sent over 50 kilometres (31 miles) on a single laser beam, was coded using a system known as orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) in which the laser beam is divided into separate colour streams.

"With 26 terabits per second, you can simultaneously transmit up to 400 million telephone calls per second," Prof. Jürg Leuthold from KIT said in a statement.

“A few years ago, data rates of 26 terabits per second were deemed utopian even for systems with many lasers, and there would not have been any applications,” he said.

The scientists will now concentrate their efforts on developing systems capable of transmitting between 400 gigabits to 1 terabit per second.

"Our results prove that the physical limits for even extremely high data rates have not yet been reached," said Leuthold.

http://www.thelocal.de/sci-tech/20110524-35209.html

[yoda313]

Well it sounds cool but I'll believe it when these two things hit the market:

Internet 2

Holographic dvds

Wake me when they get here than I'll believe it.

----------- Cool science though - practicality is a whole nother story.

[El Heggunte]

Great.

But it's not free for everyone yet.

Not to mention such a monstrous bandwidth will remain pointless
while most things available on the Internet are 100% garbage.