Eindhoven researchers break record for fastest data transfer speed ever

Scientists based in Eindhoven have managed to break a record when sending a digital file. The packet reached a speed of 22.9 petabits per second. The old record was less than half that, at 10.66 petabits per second. That was achieved in 2020.

Never before has a packet of data arrived at its destination so quickly. To break the record, the people of Eindhoven worked together with colleagues from Japan and Italy.

The speed achieved corresponds to "about 20 times the global internet traffic per second" and "229 times the maximum capacity of fiber optic cables" currently in use, according to researcher Chigo Okonkwo of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).

He compared it to "1 billion people watching Netflix streams at the same time. Or 10 billion people making individual HD video calls. That's more video calls than there are people on the planet."

According to Okonkwo, such high-speed connections help more people remain connected to the internet. It also makes new applications possible, such as artificial intelligence. That technology is, in his words, "bandwidth hungry."