Chinese team says it set 3.2 Pb/s real-time fibre speed record

Speed touted as enough to download 20,000 4K movies in one second across 24-core cable

By LineZotpaper AI staff

Published26 October 2026

Read Time2 min

Illustration: Chinese team says it set 3.2 Pb/s real-time fibre speed record

A Chinese research team has claimed a new world record for real-time data transfer speeds across a 24-core optical fiber cable, achieving 3.2 petabits per second (Pb/s). The milestone, reported by the Hubei Province government website, represents an almost 30% improvement over the team's own earlier record of 2.5 Pb/s set earlier this year.

The collaboration involved the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technology, Network of China Information and Communication Technologies Group, Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology Co., Ltd. According to the source, the speed is sufficient for "more than 20,000 4K movies" to be transferred in one second, or to provide "3.2 million households simultaneously enjoying gigabit broadband."

Technically, the record was achieved using spatial division multiplexing and S+C+L multi-band transmission technology. The researchers overcame challenges including crosstalk interference and the varying specification requirements of the S+C+L transmission bands.

Crucially, the team reported using commercially compliant hardware architectures in real-time, suggesting the achievement could be closer to practical deployment than purely academic demonstrations. By contrast, laboratory experiments on similar 24-core telecommunications fiber have reached speeds of up to 5.29 Pb/s, but those results often rely on advanced or experimental signal processing and equipment not yet ready for real-world networks.

The 3.2 Pb/s result comfortably eclipses the team's previous record of 2.5 Pb/s, marking a roughly 30% performance uplift within a year.

RSS

The Daily Edition

The front page in your inbox each weekday morning: the lead, the picks, and why each one earned its place.

Optical fiber transfer speed records (Pb/s)

Pb/s

Previous and new records are real-time; lab experiment uses experimental equipment. Source: Tom's Hardware

Analysis

Why This Matters

The record represents a nearly 30% performance improvement within a year, signaling rapid progress in optical communication that could enable faster internet for millions.
The use of commercially compliant hardware suggests the technology could be deployed in real-world networks sooner than purely lab-based records.
If scaled, such speeds could support emerging bandwidth-hungry applications like AI, high-definition streaming, and smart city infrastructure.

Background

Optical fiber is the backbone of global internet connectivity. Researchers have been pushing data transmission speeds for decades. The Chinese team's earlier record of 2.5 Pb/s earlier this year was itself a milestone. This new record uses spatial division multiplexing and multi-band transmission to increase capacity. However, lab experiments have reached even higher speeds up to 5.29 Pb/s using advanced equipment not yet practical for commercial deployment. This new result claims to combine high speed with real-time operation on commercially viable hardware.

What to Watch

Whether this technology moves from demonstration to trial deployments in telecommunications networks.
How other research groups respond, especially those working on competing approaches like hollow-core fiber or chip-scale photonics.
The timeline for potential commercial availability, given the need for standardization and infrastructure investment.

Sources

3.2 Petabits per second real-time optical fiber transfer speed world record claimed by Chinese team · Tom's Hardware

Checked

10 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.

Show each claim

SupportedThe Chinese team says it set a 3.2 Pb/s real-time optical-fibre transfer-speed record using a 24-core cable.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “A Chinese team has claimed a new world record for real-time transfer speeds across 24-core optical fiber cable.”
SupportedThe speed was touted as enough to transfer 20,000 4K movies in one second.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “hit speeds fast enough to download “more than 20,000 4K movies” in one second”
SupportedThe team’s 3.2 Pb/s result is an almost 30% improvement on its earlier 2.5 Pb/s record.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “this new 3.2 Pb/s real-time optical transfer speed world record comfortably eclipses the 2.5 Pb/s record set by the same teams earlier this year. The improvement represents an almost 30% performance uplift within a year.”
SupportedThe milestone was reported by the Hubei Province government website.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “reports the Chinese government website for Hubei Province.”
SupportedThe collaboration included the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technology, Network of China Information and Communication Technologies Group, Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology Co., Ltd.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The collaboration between the National Key Laboratory of Optical Communication Technology, and Network of China Information and Communication Technologies Group, Pengcheng Laboratory, and Fiberhome Fujikura Fiber Optic Technology Co., Ltd.”
SupportedThe source said the speed could equate to 3.2 million households simultaneously enjoying gigabit broadband.Latest from Tom's Hardware: ““3.2 million households simultaneously enjoying gigabit broadband.””
SupportedThe result used spatial division multiplexing and S+C+L multi-band transmission technology.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “the 3.2 Pb/s test proved the success of the spatial division multiplexing and S+C+L multi-band transmission technology used by the team.”
SupportedThe researchers faced crosstalk interference and differing S+C+L transmission-band specification requirements.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “Major hurdles faced by the researchers included crosstalk interference, and handling the varying spec requirements of the S+C+L transmission bands.”
SupportedThe team used commercially compliant hardware architectures in real time, suggesting the result could be closer to practical deployment than purely academic demonstrations.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “The new 3.2 Pb/s transmission record was achieved using commercially compliant hardware architectures in real-time. Thus, the headlining result could be practical and deployable in the real world in the not-too-distant future”
SupportedLaboratory experiments on similar 24-core telecommunications fibre have reached up to 5.29 Pb/s, but often rely on advanced or experimental signal processing and laboratory equipment.Latest from Tom's Hardware: “pure academic lab optical fiber transmission milestones which have reached transfer speeds (across similar 24-core telecommunications fiber) of up to 5.29 Pb/s. However, these incredibly impressive lab results often lean on advanced or experimental signal processing and laboratory equipment.”