A joint research initiative in China has set a new world record for real-time data transmission across optical fiber, reaching a staggering 3.2 petabits per second (Pb/s) over a 24-core cable. The breakthrough achieves data throughput fast enough to download more than 20,000 4K movies in a single second, according to an announcement published on the official government portal for Hubei Province (via Tom’s Hardware). The milestone has been achieved through a collaboration among several leading Chinese technical bodies and optical firms, including the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technology and Network (under the China Information and Communication Technologies Group), Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology Co., Ltd.
If and when the technology is deployed commercially, the 3.2 Pb/s capacity could allow 3.2 million households to run simultaneous gigabit-speed broadband connections. The 3.2 Pb/s figure was delivered in real-time using commercially compliant hardware architectures. What separates this achievement from conventional laboratory benchmarks is its deployment design. As the setup adheres to real-world commercial standards, the framework could be practical and deployable across enterprise and public networks in the near future.