UK researchers have set a new milestone in data transmission by combining multiple wireless techniques to achieve record-breaking speeds.
In laboratory experiments, they reached 1 terabit per second (Tbps), a significant leap forward in wireless technology. The challenge now lies in proving its viability for commercial applications.
A team from University College London (UCL) successfully transferred nearly one terabit of data per second over a wireless connection, setting a world record.
This breakthrough paves the way for future advancements in high-speed wireless communications.
By utilizing a broad spectrum of electromagnetic frequencies, the researchers achieved data transmission rates that are thousands of times faster than the typical download speeds on UK 5G networks.
Their recently published study details an ultra-wideband transmission system that combines electronic and photonic-assisted signal generation, reaching 938 Gbps across a frequency range of 5-150GHz
. In comparison, traditional wireless networks primarily rely on radio frequencies below 6GHz, delivering average speeds of around 100 Mbps over 5G.
Radio frequencies have become congested with a variety of signals, limiting wireless communication speeds.
The UCL team overcame this “bottleneck” by employing a combination of radio and optical technologies, an unprecedented approach that resulted in significantly faster and more stable data transmission.
The researchers’ innovative solution integrates advanced electronics, optimized for the 5-50GHz range, with photonics technology that uses light to generate radio waves in the 50-150GHz range.
This combination allowed them to achieve a total bandwidth more than five times greater than previous wireless transmission records (145GHz). The astonishing speed of the system is 9,380 times faster than the UK’s best average 5G network speeds.
To illustrate its capability, the team managed to transfer a two-hour UltraHD movie (approximately 14GB) in just 0.12 seconds, a process that would take 19 minutes over a 100 Mbps 5G connection.
“Current wireless communication systems are struggling to meet the increasing demand for high-speed data access, particularly in the final stretch between the user and the fiber optic network,” said Zhixin Liu, lead author of the UCL study.
He highlighted this “last-mile” bottleneck as a key hurdle for existing wireless networks.
While the technology has so far only been demonstrated in lab conditions, the team is already developing a prototype device to test in real-world commercial settings.
They are optimistic that within three to five years, this novel transmission method could be integrated into commercially available equipment.
The UCL team believes that their breakthrough could greatly enhance wireless connections, narrowing the gap between ultra-fast fiber optic networks and “last-mile” devices like smartphones or Wi-Fi routers.
The technology has the potential to revolutionize mobile networks, offering faster and more reliable connections in densely populated areas, and could play a critical role in future 5G and even 6G services.
