Optical fibre and cable-maker Sterlite Technologies has developed a technology to test 10-50 Tbps data transmission over long-haul networks.

Work on the initiative is going on at a new centre of excellence dedicated to research and development of fibre-optic broadband technologies established in Aurangabad.

The facility, inaugurated by former President, APJ Abdul Kalam on Thursday, adjoins Sterlite’s integrated 20-million-km optical fibre factory in Aurangabad. The company has invested around Rs 55 crore for the purpose.

“Sterlite has developed an ecosystem to test 10-50 Tbps over long-haul networks. This supports at least 100 Mbps at the user-end in access networks,” said Dr Anand Agarwal, CEO, Sterlite Technologies.

The company has also developed bend in-sensitive fibre that reduces transmission losses substantially.

In his speech Dr Kalam said a new type of fibre optic cable developed by researchers in the US and the Netherlands had smashed data transfer records, managing to squeeze 255 terabits of information per second down a single strand of glass fibre.

“Dr Kalam said our target should be 256 Tbps per fibre with a speciality fibre,” Agarwal shared. Currently, the best data broadband speed in the country is around 0.5 Mbps.

Sterlite pledges $100,000 per annum for BB technologies

To strengthen India’s investments in broadband technology research, Sterlite also announced an annual seed fund of $100,000 per year.

This will be awarded to promising new Indian start-ups working on innovative broadband deployment technologies. Agreements on collaborative research in ultra-high speed broadband were also signed with IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur.

Sterlite, which currently is the only manufacturer of glass to make optical fibre in India, also makes optic fibre and cables at Silvassa, Aurangabad, China and Brazil. It has delivered nearly 40 per cent of India’s fibre network.

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