In a major development, Chinese scientists have accomplished a significant milestone by surpassing Elon Musk’s Starlink by delivering data speeds nearly five times faster.
This milestone marks a major leap forward toward global ultra-fast internet.
Developed by a research team led by Professor Wu Jian from Peking University of Posts and Telecommunications and Liu Chao of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Chinese satellite beats Elon Musk's Starlink
The latest system has internet speeds of up to one Gbps, all powered by a low-energy, 2-watt laser.
Interestingly, the signal was transmitted from a satellite in geostationary orbit, nearly 36,705 kilometres above Earth, more than 60 times more in contrast to the low-Earth orbit satellites.
Despite this distance, the researchers efficiently maintain high-speed data transfer by reducing one of laser communication’s major challenges: ”atmospheric interference”.
In addition, atmospheric turbulence can disperse laser signals, minimising them to faint, distorted patches until they reach Earth.
In order to resolve this issue, the team employed a revolutionary method which is known as AO-MDR synergy.
This innovative system integrates adaptive optics (AO) that reshapes distorted laser light and leverages 357 micro-mirrors, with multi-dimensional regeneration (MDR) techniques.
At a test site in Lijiang, southwestern China, the scientists used a “multi-plane light converter” (MPLC), a device which is used to split incoming light into several channels.
