JAPAN SETS A NEW INTERNET SPEED RECORD

Researchers in Japan say they have set a new world record for the fastest internet speed, transmitting over 125,000 gigabytes of data per second over 1,120 miles. That's about 4 million times the average internet speed in the US. This is also more than twice the previous world record of 50,250 gigabytes per second, set by a different team of scientists in 2024. To achieve this new speed, which has not been independently verified, the team developed a new form of optical fibre to send information over roughly the distance between New York and Florida.

- WORDS PERRI THALER

The new type of optical fibre is equivalent to 19 standard optical fibres in its data transmission capacity. It's better suited to long-haul transmission than existing cables because the centres of a