The key facts

  • World's first real-time two-way data transmission test over hollow fiber on a line 1,007.48 km long
  • Speed of 64 Tbps in each direction: 160 4K films of 50 GB per second
  • Latency over 1,000 km one way is 3.43 ms; capacity twice as high and range 60% greater than the best solid-core fibers

Record-breaking hollow optical fiber experiment

China has completed the world's first experiment on real-time data transmission in both directions over a hollow optical fiber line more than 1,000 kilometers long. This was reported by Kun.uz, citing materials from Global Times. Unlike the vast majority of modern fibers with a solid quartz core, in hollow fiber the signal travels mainly through a channel filled with air.

Test results

On a line 1,007.48 kilometers long, it was possible for the first time to transmit a signal simultaneously in both directions at a speed of 64 terabits per second. This throughput in each direction is enough to download or send 160 4K films of 50 gigabytes each in one second. The signal travels 1,000 kilometers in one direction in just 3.43 milliseconds — thereby setting a record for real-time data transmission distance over hollow fiber.

How the technology differs from existing ones

Compared with the best modern solid-core fibers, the new technology doubles the transmission capacity and increases the transmission distance by 60%. Compared with previous tests of similar hollow fiber, the distance in this experiment increased 50-fold. Heo Xiaoli, chief expert at China Telecom for next-generation information and communication technologies, noted that hollow fiber transmits signals through a gaseous medium, which reduces latency by 30%.

Practical application

The success of the experiment confirms that hollow fiber can transmit large volumes of data over long distances with low latency, including with the reuse of existing transmission equipment. The technology is already being used on the world's first cross-border commercial communication line based on hollow optical fiber, specially designated for the financial sector: it connects the city of Shenzhen in China's southern province of Guangdong with Hong Kong. In the future, hollow fiber is expected to displace solid fibers in an ever-growing number of fields and become an important technical foundation for China's next-generation communication and computing networks.