Virgin Media has published a news blog post about trials of a cutting-edge multi-gigabit network technology. As per our headline the new tech is capable of delivering up to 400Gbps over a single optical fibre.
The tech trial involved the installation of prototype Infinera XR Optics technology in Virgin Media's network in Reading, Berkshire. Virgin says that the new equipment "plugs into the existing network and is able to send and receive data at much higher speeds than was previously possible – reaching transfer rates of up to 400Gbps in a single fibre". The trial demonstrated that Virgin's passive fibre optic access network (PON) could deliver 400Gbps symmetrical services using this tech. Moreover, and very importantly for existing customers, the new tech was "seamlessly applied to existing networks," according to the Infinera's CEO.
Virgin explains the important advance delivered by the prototype Infinera XR Optics technology. Basically, the traditional network transceivers were replaced with the prototypes which split a fibre optic cable into many connections, all taking a share of the huge capacity. Interestingly, once in place these transceivers can be remotely upgraded and configured. This should make it easy to deliver consumer upgrades in the future.
Virgin: 20.77GB per user consumed on Thursday, 25th February 2021
Virgin Media has said that its network experienced its highest ever download traffic on 25th Feb. On that date the average user consumed 20.77GB of data. This figure is about 3.5GB higher than the average daily consumption in 2020.
Lockdowns, cold temperatures, and remote schooling contributed to a significant rise in data traffic in January and February. However, according to ISPReview, this particular day's record download traffic was partly due to a computer game being updated. The date coincides with the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone Season Two roll out.
