China has set a new world record for data transmission over fiber-optic lines. During testing, engineers achieved a total transmission speed of 51,3 Tbps over a distance of 206,5 km without the use of intermediate optical repeaters, reports hi-tech.mail.ru.

The experiment was conducted by the provider China Telecom, the fiber-optic manufacturer Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (YOFC), and the company Dekoli as part of a national program to develop technologies for the production and application of fiber-optic cables. The aim of the tests was to evaluate the performance of a new type of fiber under conditions approximating real-world commercial infrastructure.

A key feature of the experiment was the use of hollow-core optical fiber. Unlike traditional fiber, where the signal propagates through glass, in this case, it travels through an air channel inside the cable. This design makes it possible to reduce data transmission latency and increase the potential bandwidth of backbone communication lines and data center networks.

During testing, engineers achieved transmission speeds of up to 1,2 Tbps per wavelength. This resulted in a record aggregate throughput of 51,3 Tbps over a single 206,5-kilometer span without signal repeaters. According to the developers, this is currently the best result among wavelength-division multiplexing systems operating without remotely pumped amplifiers.

To achieve this level of performance, researchers developed an adaptive channel control system: instead of using fixed parameters, the equipment dynamically redistributed transmission speed and power among individual wavelengths. This made it possible to compensate for efficiency losses caused by signal propagation characteristics in hollow-core fiber and to fully utilize its transmission capacity.