Internet Could Become 100 Times Faster With a New 'Twisted' Fiber Optic

New developments in fiber optics have resulted in what could potentially be a major breakthrough for internet speeds.

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Image via Getty/Thomas Trutschel

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New developments in fiber optics have resulted in what could potentially be a major breakthrough for internet speeds, as The Guardian reports. Research published in the journal Nature Communications states that the recent developments could increase speeds up to approximately 100 times.

By detecting light that has been twisted into a spiral, the new fiber optics research could theoretically be applied to existing networks to significantly boost current speeds. “It’s like DNA, if you look at the double helix spiral,” RMIT University's Min Gu explained. “The more you can use angular momentum the more information you can carry.”

Fiber optic cables use pulses of light to transmit information, and by twisting the light, engineers can effectively create more space for information to travel. Researchers have previously created fiber that could twist light, but the size of the detectors wasn't reasonable enough for the purpose of internet. “We could produce the first chip that could detect this twisting and display it for mobile application,” Gu said.

It remains to be seen when these speeds will be available for public consumption and where exactly, but with fiber rapidly becoming the standard for internet across the world, there's little doubt these high speeds will become available at some point or later.

Australia's internet provider NBN Co gave an indication of just how long something like this could take, explaining, “New communications technologies are continually being tested in labs many years in advance of being commercialized. They require widespread acceptance from equipment manufacturers and network operators before they are ready for operational deployment.”

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