When Google introduced gigabit service in Kansas City, Mo., it was a big deal. When Comcast announced 2 Gbps service, it was cool, but it didn’t get nearly the same amount of publicity. But maybe adding another zero to gigabit speeds is enough to get headlines: during recent tests, Verizon produced 10 Gbps speeds, which is more than 20 times faster than its best FiOS® plan currently available.
Fiber optic cables work by sending pulses of light through thin, transparent glass or plastic strands. One way of increasing the speed of a fiber cable is to increase the number of strands, making the cable physically larger. However, that’s not a perfect solution because once the fiber is in the ground, it’s expensive to dig up and replace.
Making Basic Science Seem Awesome
Verizon’s breakthrough came as a result of changing what they sent through the fiber cables, not the cables themselves. Remember, data is transmitted through fiber optic cables in the form of light. By changing color of the light, it changes the wavelength of this transmitted light, moving it to a different portion of the light spectrum. This allows multiple colors of light to be transmitted simultaneously.
What really makes this new technology exciting is how scalable it is. If you’re harder to please than Shania Twain, and 10 Gbps don’t impress you much, then how about 20 or 30 Gbps? Increasing speed in 10 Gbps increments is as simple as transmitting a new color of light through the fiber optic cable. According to Verizon, it works all the way up to 80 Gbps.
How real is it?
This breakthrough isn’t something that just happened in a university physics lab: Verizon tested it in real world conditions. The company conducted the test by transmitting data from its central office in Framingham, Mass., to an actual FiOS customer three miles away. The experiment required installing new equipment in Verizon’s office, but didn’t require any changes to the already-installed fiber cable — and that’s really good news in terms of making the new technology cost-effective and ready for market sooner.
Who actually needs 10 (or 80) Gbps?
Verizon thinks that, for now, the higher speeds will appeal to business customers. Most consumers don’t need this kind of speed, but as technology makes faster speeds possible, online content providers will find ways to use that speed. For example, Verizon named 4k ultra-HD video and the Internet of Things (IoT) as factors that will eventually drive consumer demand.
Another reason consumers should be excited for the technology, even if they have no plans to purchase a plan this fast, is that increases in speed usually mean decreases in cost over time. The same amount of money today buys a faster plan than it did a decade ago. As 10 Gbps and faster speeds become more commonly available, they’ll get cheaper, and so will plans measured “only” in hundreds of Mbps.
I don’t need it, but I want it.
Verizon hasn’t yet announced when 10 Gbps will become available or where. However, it’s a pretty safe bet it will be available in existing FiOS service areas before it’s available in new markets. To find out if you live in one of those markets, and to find a high-speed Internet alternative if you don’t, enter your ZIP code below.
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