Breaking the Transatlantic Record
Leave a CommentMaking an overseas phone call? Using cloud computing? If so, there’s a 99 percent chance your call or message is being carried by an undersea fiber optic cable. Now, new research with lasers may let service providers “push” even more data through these cables to help meet the booming demand for transmission between North […]
Tags: fiber optic cables, MAREA, submarine cable, subsea cable
New Ways to Twist and Shift Light
2 CommentsThe National Physical Laboratory (NPL) recently conducted photonics research that may lead to new quantum technologies and telecom systems. The researchers discovered unexpected qualities in light that could, in the long term, lead to completely new electronic devices and applications. Light is frequently used in electronics involved in telecommunications and computing. One good example […]
Tags: fiber optic cables, light, optical fiber, photonics
Lighting Up Dark Fiber
Leave a CommentLast month, internet speeds in Jackson, Mississippi, jumped from 1 Gb to 100 Gb. This leap forward is part of the city’s work to light up “dark fiber” in the robust fiber optic network that it owns. The Origin of Dark Fiber The term “dark fiber” refers to unused or underused fiber optic infrastructure (optical fibers, […]
Fiber to the Home Growth Keeps Exploding
Leave a CommentThe growth in Fiber to the Home (FTTH) just keeps exploding. In fact, for the first time ever, optical fiber passed DSL in home usage during 2018. Fiber is now the second most-frequent connection for North American home Internet. And FTTH is also the second most-often-used, fixed broadband connection medium in North America. A […]
Tags: FTTH, Smart Home
The “Wet Net” World of Underwater Fiber Optic Cables
Leave a CommentYou panic when even a few drops of water fall on your laptop. Everyone knows that water and electronics don’t “mix.” That’s why it seems so ironic that most of the Internet’s “hard” infrastructure lies underwater on the ocean floor. Virtually all global data travels through millions of miles of submarine fiber optic cables beneath […]
Tags: fiber, fiber optic cable, submarine cables
5G: What’s All the Hoopla About?
Leave a CommentThere’s been lots of excitement and even some “hype” around the idea of 5G. But what is it really? Does it mean just faster internet? Will it really be that much better than 4G? Many people are asking these questions as the FCC begins to auction the first licenses for the airwaves that will carry […]
Tags: 5G, broadband, drones, faster internet, fiber optic cable, latency, network, optical connectivity, optical fiber, self-driving cars, technology trends, telemedicine, telesurgery, Virtual Reality, wireless, wireless networks
Can a Quantum Network “Hacker Proof” Fiber Optic Cables?
Leave a CommentIn 2013, Edward Snowden, a U.S. National Security Agency contractor, leaked documents showing that intelligence agencies were spying on the data of private citizens. One disturbing fact was that the spies tapped into optical fiber cables to access the huge amount of data moving through these cables. Snowden’s disclosures pushed researchers to use quantum science […]
Tags: cybersecurity, Edward Snowden, hackers, hacking, network security, NSA, quantum, quantum key distribution, quantum network, quantum teleportation, secure network