How a laser beam could quadruple the speed of the Internet

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Researchers from the California Institute of Technology say they've come up with a new kind of laser that's capable of quadrupling the bandwidth on today's fastest fiber optic networks.

These networks make up what's known as the Internet "backbone," the behind-the-scenes network that delivers content to ISPs like Verizon -- who in turn make that content available to you. Today's best backbone technology is capable of staggering bandwidth -- in some cases up to 400 Gbps. For perspective, that's more than 40,000 times the speed of the average American's home connection. (Take that comparison with a grain of salt: Most Americans will never need the capacity of a backbone connection. Even the fastest consumer plans top out at 1 Gbps these days.) But the new laser technology, developed in part by National Medal of Science-winner Amnon Yariv, promises to quadruple bandwidth in the existing Internet backbone, if not more.


How a laser beam could quadruple the speed of the Internet