CHINA'S SPEED DEMON

Chinese companies have unveiled the 'world's fastest internet' network that can transmit data at 1.2 terabits per second. This speed is said to be over 10 times faster than most current major internet routes, let alone the idea of how significant a milestone it is in our journey towards a more connected and innovative future

China's overall fixed and mobile broadband speeds have increased by over 2.5 times in three years, according to a recent report.

The report, from the Broadband Development Alliance, showed that in the fourth quarter of last year, the national average fixed broadband download speed reached 83.8 megabits per second, up 17 percent year-on-year; while the average combined 4G/5G mobile broadband download speed exceeded 129 Mbps, up 32 percent year-on-year.

Such speeds would enable the downloading of a 10 gigabyte 1080p high-definition movie in about 16 minutes on a fixed connection, and under 11 minutes on a mobile connection.

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 the latest data from network analysis company Ookla, the national averages placed China eighth globally for fixed broadband speeds and sixth for mobile performance, with mobile download speeds well above the 51.1 Mbps global average.

The increased fixed broadband speed has been fueled by the accelerated nationwide deployment of gigabit broadband, with 163 million households subscribed to gigabit plans by the end of last year. By February, that user base had expanded to 172 million, accounting for 26.7 percent of fixed broadband users.

China had 805 million 5G subscribers at the end of last year, representing 46.6 percent of mobile users - 2.5 times the global average 5G penetration rate.