China launches world’s fastest internet
Network can send the equivalent of 150 films per second, three times faster than nearest rival in the US and two years earlier than industry forecasts.
China launches world’s fastest internet
2T2C: Talent, Technology, Capital, Cognition

China launches world’s fastest internet

Photo: iStock
Eurasia 15/11/2023 18:44

China has beaten a global deadline, launching the world’s first next-generation internet service – more than 10 times faster than existing major routes – two years ahead of industry predictions.

The backbone network – so called because it forms a principal data route between cities – can transmit data at 1.2 terabits (1,200 gigabits) per second between Beijing in the north, central China’s Wuhan and Guangzhou in the southern province of Guangdong, according to South China Morning Post. 

The line, which spans more than 3,000km (1,860 miles) of optical fibre cabling, was activated in July and officially launched on Monday, after performing reliably and passing all operational tests.

The achievement – a collaboration between Tsinghua University, China Mobile, Huawei Technologies, and Cernet Corporation – smashes expert forecasts that 1 terabit per second ultra-high-speed networks would not emerge until around 2025.

#VantageOnFirstpost: #China is claiming that they now have the world's fastest #internet. Their new network transmits 1.2 terabits per second. That's over 1200 gigabits, per second. @Palkisu tells you more. pic.twitter.com/j4ffbvAPaf

— Firstpost (@firstpost) November 15, 2023
Most of the world’s internet backbone networks operate at just 100 gigabits per second. Even the United States only recently completed the transition to its fifth-generation Internet2 at 400 gigabits per second.

Huawei Technologies vice-president Wang Lei told at a press conference at Tsinghua University on Monday that the network was “capable of transferring the data equivalent of 150 high-definition films in just one second”.

The new backbone network marks another advance for China, which has been concerned about its reliance on the US and Japan for routers and other components of internet technology.

All of the system’s software and hardware has been domestically produced, with the technical research team making advancements in everything from routers and switches to optical fibre connections.

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