Japanese scientists achieve fastest ever internet speed

It is around 1,6 million times faster than that of the average download in the US.

An international team of researchers led by Japanese scientists achieved a download speed of 402 terabits per second, breaking the previous world record of 319 terabits per second.

The new record of 402,000,000 Mbps is approximately 1.6 million times faster than the average download speed in the US, which is around 250 Mbps, according to Ookla's speed test.

The record was transmitted over 50 km using optical fiber designed to suppress water absorption peaks, the researchers say.

The team of scientists was able to achieve the record by constructing the first optical

transmission system covering all the transmission bands of the low-loss window of standard optical fibers.

Specifically, the researchers constructed the world's first O-to-U-band transmission system capable of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) transmission in standard optical fiber, using custom-designed amplifier technology.

While such speeds were achieved under optimal conditions and will not be available to regular users for quite some time, the research paves the way for future technological improvements.

"These results show the potential of ultra-wideband transmission, enabled by a new amplifier and wideband spectrum-shaping technology to increase the information carrying capability of new and deployed optical fibers," the researchers say in a press release.

The record was set by an International team of researchers led by the Photonic Network Laboratory of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, which also set the previous record.