In a ground-breaking development, Chinese companies have unveiled the 'world's fastest internet' network, claiming that it can transmit data at 1.2 terabits per second.
Quoting the South China Morning Post, the ndtv.com reports that this speed is said to be over ten times faster than most current major internet routes. Notably, the project is a collaboration between Tsinghua University, China Mobile, Huawei Technologies, and Cernet Corporation
Spanning over 3,000 kilometers, the network links Beijing, Wuhan, and Guangzhou through an extensive optical fiber cabling system and has the capacity to transmit data at an astonishing 1.2 terabits (1,200 gigabits) per second.
Most of the world's Internet backbone networks operate at just 100 gigabits per second. Even the United States has recently completed the transition to its fifth-generation Internet2 at 400 gigabits per second.
Notably, the Beijing-Wuhan-Guangzhou connection is part of China's Future Internet Technology Infrastructure, a decade-long initiative and the latest iteration of the national China Education and Research Network (Cernet). Activated in July and officially launched on Monday, the network surpassed all operational tests and performed reliably.
To understand how fast the network really is, Huawei Technologies vice-president Wang Lei explained that it is "capable of transferring the data equivalent of 150 high-definition films in just one second".
Meanwhile, FITI project leader Wu Jianping from the Chinese Academy of Engineering said the superfast line was "not only a successful operation", but also gives China the 'advanced technology to build an even faster internet'.
Xu Mingwei of Tsinghua University, comparing the new internet backbone to a superfast train track, explained that it replaces the need for 10 regular tracks to carry the same amount of data, resulting in a more cost-effective and manageable system.
All of the system's software and hardware has been domestically produced.
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