Researchers in New York have found a way to make accessing the Internet faster and cheaper. The crux of their findings is related to the fibre optic cables that form the backbone of the Internet. These cables are not able to carry data properly over longer distances, and so need more power to supply the data. But beyond a certain threshold, more power results in more distortion, resulting in a catch 22 of sorts. This is why repeaters are placed in multiple points along the Internet’s infrastructure, amplifying the signals as they get weaker, for larger reach.
This makes Internet access in remote places extremely expensive, and so the researchers have found a way to reverse the distortion at the other end without the use of repeaters. This means that repeaters will not be needed, and results in a massive cost-cut for transporting data across the Internet’s infrastructure. This makes Internet access cheaper for the end user.
In fact, the researchers were able to transport data over an unprecedented 12,000 kms without the use of repeaters, and were able to reverse the crosstalk (distortion) that occurs over such long distances. And since Internet signals can be amplified without the problem of them getting distorted, more power can be supplied, resulting in stronger connections, faster and cheaper Internet.
Source: Eureka Alert