How Fast Is 1.02 Petabit/Second? All That You Can Do With The Internet Speed Japan Just Clocked

Japan engineers have set a world record for internet speed by hitting an unimaginable 1.02 petabits per second. According to the TechRadar Pro publication, 1.02 petabits is about 1 million gigabits every second or roughly 3.5 million times faster than the average USA internet speed. Japan’s engineers from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and Sumitomo Electric have accomplished this record in May 2025. 

What can we do with 1.02 petabits per second?

Japan’s engineers have made a smashing groundbreaking record by achieving this speed and its practical applications are yet to be explored. According to an estimate, 10 million channels of 8K broadcasting could be supported simultaneously with the 1.02 petabits and also enable global live coverage with virtually no delay. Also, downloading large files like the movie libraries would take only a couple of seconds. Additionally, streaming high-resolution video, including 8K or even 16K can be possible without no buffering or delays. 

What are the limitations for the 1.02 petabits speed?

It should be noted that the 1.02 petabits speed has been achieved in a lab setting. The current internet infrastructure (including fiber optic cables and user devices) aren’t designed to handle such speeds. It remains to be seen that what infrastructure can be curated to handle such speeds. Practically speaking, downloading movie libraries isn’t possible in some platforms like Netflix because it limits the downloads per device. Also, the technology to achieve and distribute such speeds is likely to be very costly and everyone may not be able to access it. Additionally, the high data transfer speeds also require enhanced cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive information, from the cyber criminals. 
Till the time these concerns are not addressed properly, it feels that the customers would not be able to enjoy the 1.02 petabits speed.