Engineers Break the Speed Limit for Fiber-optic Transmission

Fiber optic networks are already the preferred choice for Internet connections in countries like USA and UK and following the trend, companies like MTNL and Airtel are offering fiber optic services to Indian consumers. Fiber-optics based Internet can usually transmit Internet speed ranging from 15 Mbps upto 100 Mbps in some countries.


Of late, there is a discussion going on among scientists and researchers on what will happen when fiber-optic cables reach their physical limits. In a matter of few years, the physical barrier of 100 TBps could be reached in five years and could easily break if services like 8K streaming and others become the standard.

It may look like that the Internet Apocalypse may soon end our days of trolling and killing time on 9GAG, but thankfully, it will not happen.

Engineers at UC San Diego’s Qualcomm Institute have successfully tested the limit of fiber-optic transmissions by increasing the power of optical signals almost twenty times the base level. To send the data faster, engineers usually increase the speed by adding more power, which can interfere with the data, scramble it and lead to a state where data is not being delivered at all.

Engineers used wideband “frequency combs” that conditioned streams of information before they were sent out, so that any interference that occurred along the way would be predicted. At the receiving end of the fiber, the information was unscrambled and fully restored.

As Nikola Alic of the Qualcomm Institute, a lead author on the paper, under which the experiment was carried out, puts it, “Today’s fiber optic systems are a little like quicksand. With quicksand, the more you struggle, the faster you sink. With fiber optics, after a certain point, the more power you add to the signal, the more distortion you get, in effect preventing a longer reach.” The team’s use of “frequency combs” will not only keep the signal going but will also allow distortion-free signal.

Internet will live on, after all

Top 10 Countries With the World's Fastest Internet

The internet is an absolute necessity for our generation. Everything we do, today, is connected to the Internet somehow or the other. For most of us, it is impossible to go through the day without scrolling through our Facebook feed or YouTube. With only a keyboard and mouse, we can access limitless amount of information.

But, with a slow Internet speed, there is nothing more irritating than waiting for a page to load. For the people living in the countries listed below, we’re guessing that they never have to use the word “buffer”.

Let us look at some countries with the fastest Internet connections:
#10 Finland

This year, Finland had a tremendous growth with a 33% increase in its Internet speed. Undoubtedly, one of the wealthiest countries of Europe, Finland also boasts a high quality of life and education.

Average Internet Speed: 12.1 Mbps

#9 Czech Republic

One of the developing countries in Europe, many people would argue that Czech Republic isn’t quite there yet. It’s simply not true. Czech Republic is one of the fastest growing European countries in the terms of economy. Just like its growth rate, the Internet facilities have developed by leaps in the past few years.

Average Internet Speed: 12.3 Mbps

#8 Ireland

Ireland has one of the fastest growing technology sectors in Europe. It has seen a growth of 24% in the last year.

Average Internet Speed: 12.3 Mbps

#7 Latvia

Latvia is perhaps the only country in this list, that many would never have heard of. This region has a rather dark past since was under, both, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union rule. But, it has been showing spectacular growth in all sectors. In the terms of Internet speed, Latvia has taken most of the countries by surprise. Internet speeds have grown 25% over the last year.

Average Internet Speed: 13 Mbps

#6 Netherlands

Netherlands is listed with Switzerland in holding the most broadband subscriptions per 100 subscriptions, has no bandwidth caps, and has the most homes passed in Europe in terms of connection speeds of 50 Mbps and higher. Government-mandated Internet censorship is non-existent due to the House of Representatives speaking out against filtering.

Average Internet Speed: 14.2 Mbps

#5 Switzerland

Switzerland, along with its beautiful landscapes, is also known for having one of the fastest Internet connections in the world. This country also boasts one of the highest number of Internet users in the world, with 85.2% of the population accessing the Internet every day.

Average Internet Speed: 14.5 Mbps

#4 Sweden

Moving up slowly, the Nordic nation of Sweden is also among the countries offering the highest internet speed. Sweden has best Internet speed in the whole of Europe, showing most year-over-year growth with 34 percent growth, 1 percent greater than next-door-neighbor, Finland. European countries surely have all the fun!

Average Internet Speed: 14.6 Mbps

#3 Japan

A customer looks at a web page of Qzone, a Chinese social networking site at an internet cafe in Changzhi, Shanxi province August 28, 2009. From virtual clothes to e-pets, Asians spend an estimated $5 billion a year on virtual purchases via websites such as Qzone, Cyworld in South Korea and mobile-phone based network Gree in Japan, according to Plus Eight Star. That's about 80 percent of the global market for virtual products, it says. To match feature ASIA-SOCIALNETWORKING/ REUTERS/Stringer (CHINA BUSINESS SOCIETY SCI TECH) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA

Known to the world as one of the leading digital giants, with companies like Sony, Toshiba, Nintendo, etc., fast Internet connections come naturally to this country. It maintains a reliable Internet speed that hardly seems to dwindle.

Average Internet Speed: 15.2Mbps

#2 Hong Kong

Another Asian country on the list, Hong Kong is first and only country that broke the 60 Mbps barrier back in 2013. This is due to advances in FTTH (Fiber To The Home) infrastructure and aggressive high-speed pricing, which now seems to be paying off.

Average Internet Speed: 16.8 Mbps

#1 South Korea

South Korea is the undisputed champion when it comes to Internet speed. The Internet connection here is so fast that the country is about to unveil its 10Gbps Internet service soon. The Internet has a higher standing for many Koreans than it does in the West, and the government actively encourages this. South Korea’s speed is roughly six times faster than the world average of 3.8 Mbps.

Average Speed: 22.2 Mbps

And the State Back Home..

Sadly, India comes in at number 52nd rank according to AkamaiTechnology in 2014 listing with an average speed of 2Mbps. But as a country, we are progressing at a great speed in the terms of economy and technology. With new businesses sprouting each day, the need for a connected economy has increased considerably. It’s time India should get high speed unlimited data plans.

Tags: Top 10, Top 10 Countries with Fast Internet, Top 10 Fast, Countries with Fast Internet, World's Fast Internet, Internet Speed, High Speed, 3G, 4G, 5G, Broadband, High Speed Broadband.

OnePlus One now from $249 permanently, partners with Dropbox for promo

At the beginning of the month ,OnePlus began a special flash sale promotion, offering up the OnePlus One for just $250 for the 16GB model or $300 for the 64GB version. For those that were considering picking up the phone but missed out on the flash sales, the good news is that the new price is now permanent!

After receiving tons of positive feedback over the ultra-aggressive price tag, OnePlus said they took a “hard look at the numbers to make sure [they] were maintaining [their] commitment to users.” With dropping component, assembly, and engineering costs, OnePlus now feels comfortable with passing down the savings to its customers. n reality, the fact that the

In reality, the fact that the OnePlus 2 is likely just around the corner and newer devices like the ZenFone 2 and Idol 3 are increasing the competition in the low-end price segment probably have just as big as a role to play here. Regardless of OnePlus’ motivation, the new asking price is very welcome and certainly makes the OnePlus One stand out as one of the best values on the market today. OnePlus isn’t just dropping the pricing on the OnePlus One though, they are also introducing a new pricing option.

While you can get a 16GB OPO for $250 and a 64GB OPO for $300, a new $350 bundle will net you a 64GB OnePlus One and an entire year of Dropbox Pro. With the Dropbox Pro offer, you’ll get 1TB of secure 256-bit AES and SSL encrypted storage. While the option extends the amount of storage for accessing files on your phone, Dropbox Pro also will play nicely with your other mobile devices, Windows, Linux, and even Macs. Considering that Dropbox Pro normally costs $99 a year, this adds up to a saving of $50.

What do you think of the new OPO pricing, as well as the Dropbox Pro bundle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.


Tags : OnePlus One, OnePlus One Flagship Killer, OnePlus, Cynogenmode, Cynogen Os