As the volume of data that is transmitted over the Internet continues to increase exponentially, there have been concerns that the fiber optic cables that serve as the foundation of the Internet could someday reach their limits.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, in a report that was recently published in the Science journal, reported that they were able to increase the maximum power through which fiber optic signals are transmitted and decoded. This has resulted in the possibility of optic signals being able to travel through farther distances, without experiencing degradations in their quality.

With their study, the researchers have been able to determine a method that could increase the rates of data transmission over fiber optic cables, which are described as "the backbone of the internet, cable, wireless and landline networks."

Scientist Nikola Alic, who is one of the researchers that were part of the study, explained the importance of the development by likening the fiber optic systems of today to quicksand. With quicksand, more struggling would lead to faster sinking, and with fiber optics, the more power that is added to signals, the more distortion that will happen. This distortion prevents fiber optics signals from extending their reach over longer distances.

However, according to Alic, the team's research has effectively removed the power limit for fiber optic signals, extending the distance that they can travel without the need to use a repeater.

The experiment saw the researchers increase the power of optic fiber signals by 20 times, allowing them to send the signals over a distance of 7,456 miles without any distortions affecting them.

The researchers were able to make such an achievement through taking advantage of the "crosstalk," or the interference that happens when the power used on the transmission of the fiber optic signals is too high. With more power behind the signals, the interference rises, but because the type and level of the interference in various cases can be predicted, the researchers were able to successfully reverse the interference once the signal has reached the destination.

There is still a lot of work to be done before the findings of the research team are able to be translated into improvements in the Internet systems that the world uses today. However, the results hold promise in making massive improvements on the Internet in the future, with the possibility of optical networks that are able to transmit data at faster rates and much lower costs compared to the present day.

Photo: Barta IV | Flickr