Networking company Alcatel-Lucent and BT have performed a data transfer test in which speeds of 1.4 terabits per second were reached which can be translated into 44 uncompressed HD films in just one second. The test was done over a distance of 255 miles (410 kms approx.) between London’s BT tower and Ipswich between the months of October and November in 2013. The data was transferred over existing fibre-optic cables that are already installed in major parts of the UK.
A 'flexigrid' infrastructure was implemented for the test to create an 'alien super channel' which consists of seven channels, all of which transmit 200 gigabits per seconds, that combined for a total capacity of 1.4 terabits of data per second. This is a huge achievement as it is marked a 42.5 per cent increase in data transmission efficiency when compared to the current broadband networks available in UK. This also proves that high speeds can be achieved on the current hardware of fibre-optics installed without the need to upgrade them.
Just to put the above number in context, according to last year’s reports, India’s average broadband speed is 1.3 Mbps. Chew on that.