Japanese researchers develop Internet speeds topping 100Tbps

It's old news that the Internet in this country is slow and pricey. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development data ranks American high speed Internet deployment at 15th among industrialized nations.

Researchers in Japan, on the other hand, have developed a new method of data transmission that can transfer "hundreds of terabits per second." This means the connection would be so fast that HD movies could be downloaded in seconds. With a connection of 200 kbps -- the current American definition of high speed Internet -- downloading a movie can take more than six hours.

For comparison:

100 terabits is equal to 100,000,000,000,000 bits.
200 kilobits is equal to 200,000 bits.

The difference is astonishing. While the 100 terabit technology has yet to leave the lab, it is not unrealistic to think that such speeds will someday be available to American consumers -- if we get serious now about working together to develop and implement a national high speed policy.

Report: U.S. Internet is Slow and Pricey (SpeedMatters)

Leaving the middle of the pack

Defining high speed (SpeedMatters)

Japanese 100Tbps Fiber Optics (Gizmodo)