Faster than light? Japan breaks internet speed record — download all of Netflix in just 1 second

Japan has just done something straight out of a science fiction film. Researchers in Japan have achieved the world's fastest internet speed, 1.02 petabits per second. With that speed, entire music, movie, and game libraries could be downloaded in no time at all.

Utilizing already-existing fiber optic technology, this innovation has the potential to revolutionize global data sharing, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.

You can stream millions of 8K videos at once and download every game on Steam in a split second. That is the speed of the fastest internet in the world, located in Japan, as per a report by Business Today.


Japan demonstrated the future last month. Imagine being able to download all of Netflix's content faster than it takes to launch the app, and it's going to translate into a reality.

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By sending data at an astounding 1.02 petabits per second in June 2025, researchers at Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) subtly broke the world record for internet speed. 1,020,000 gigabits per second, that is.

How did Japan achieve it?

It was more than a lab trick. NICT transmitted data using standard-sized fiber optic cables, the same type that is used globally, but with four cores and more than 50 distinct light wavelengths. Even more amazing is the fact that they were able to sustain this crazy speed for 51.7 kilometers, which makes it practical for infrastructure in the real world.

What can this speed actually do?

This type of internet speed could enable instantaneous global AI processing, connecting data centers across continents as if they were on the same local network, given the demands of cloud computing, generative AI, autonomous vehicles, and real-time translation tools, which all require massive data throughput, as quoted in a report by Business Today.

You can download all of the games available on Steam in just a moment. You could theoretically download every game ever made, from Counter-Strike 2 to Baldur's Gate 3, in less than 10 seconds with Japan's new internet speed.

Ten million 8K ultra-HD videos could be streamed at once at that speed. This would equate to offering a free, high-quality movie stream to every individual in Tokyo and New York City.

This also implies that you could download 1,27,500 years of music in a second, and backup all of Wikipedia's content 10,000 times in a second.

Will home users get this speed soon?

Unfortunately, not anytime soon. Terabit speeds have not yet been attained by consumer internet. However, governments, data center operators, and telecom behemoths are taking notice.

Japan's recent success could serve as a model for 6G networks, national broadband backbones, and the next generation of underwater cables.

FAQs

How fast is 1.02 petabits per second?
It's fast enough to download every game on Steam or stream 10 million 8K videos simultaneously.

Can we have this type of internet at home?
Not yet. This speed is years away for consumers, but it may soon power undersea cables and national networks.