New flow-switching process could increase fiber-optic speedsCreated: 7/6/2010 1:40:53 PMMIT researchers may have uncovered a breakthrough in fiber-optic technology that will increase internet transmission speeds, according to a Fierce CIO report.
The new concept, developed by a team of researchers led by MIT electrical engineering professor Vincent Chan, is called flow switching and focuses on restructuring how transmissions are processed.
Currently, some networks experience slow speeds when “current generation routers” have to convert optical signals sent from fiber cables into electrical signals, according to the report. Then, once the data packets are converted, they must be stored temporarily until all the pieces can be reassembled to be retransmitted.
By implementing flow switching, Chan and his team hope to use routers that only accept signals traveling in one direction, which would eliminate “the need to process them by first converting the data into electrical signals,” the report relays. The new method, if it catches on by large-scale providers, could potentially increase internet speeds by 100 or even 1,000 times.
With many cities embracing fiber-optic technology as their vessel to faster connections, flow switching could give them an even greater boost than they originally planned. The multi-million dollar industry, already considered by many to be the connection for the future, could become even more widespread if it offered people speeds 1,000 times faster than currently available.
Cat6 Network Cable