Japan's new internet can download entire Netflix in 1 second
What's the story
Researchers in Japan have achieved an unprecedented internet speed of 1.02 petabits per second, a milestone that could redefine global data sharing and cloud computing. The breakthrough was made by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in collaboration with Sumitomo Electric and international researchers. To put the speed into perspective, it's approximately 16 million times faster than the average internet speed in India.
Potential applications
Real-time AI processing across continents
The record-breaking internet speed could enable real-time AI processing across continents, connecting data centers as if they were on a single local network. This is especially important for applications like cloud computing, generative AI, self-driving cars, and real-time translation tools that require high data throughput. The researchers demonstrated the speed by transmitting data at an incredible 1.02 petabits (127,500 gigabytes) per second over a distance of 1,808km using standard-sized fiber optic cables.
Future prospects
Theoretical applications of this record-breaking speed
The record-breaking speed demonstrated by Japan is a major leap toward the future of internet connectivity. It could theoretically allow you to download all Steam games in an instant or stream millions of 8K ultra-HD videos simultaneously. While consumer internet has yet to reach terabit speeds and this technology is not yet available for home use, governments, data center operators, and telecom giants are already looking at Japan's success as a potential model for 6G networks and next-gen underwater cables.