The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) of Japan and Sumitomo Electric Industries have jointly announced a groundbreaking achievement: a data transmission speed of 1.02 Petabits per second (Pb/s) over a distance of 1,808 kilometers, achieved using a 19-core optical fiber with a standard outer diameter. This marks the first time such a feat has been accomplished globally. The experiment harnessed 180 wavelengths within the C and L bands, coupled with polarization-multiplexed 16-Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (16QAM) signals and 19-core multiplexing technology, thereby establishing a new benchmark for the product of transmission capacity and distance.

The crux of this success lies in the meticulously designed 19-core optical fiber and the advanced transmission system, equipped with optical amplification and relay functions. Looking ahead, both parties aim to further enhance the efficiency of optical amplification and the processing speed of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) to propel the practical implementation of this revolutionary technology.