Siemens AG has set a world record by demonstrating the fastest electrical processing of data through a fiber-optic cable. In a statement, Siemens stated that all data was processed through “purely electrical” means before and after transmission. The example network was run by means of an unspecified telco in the United States. In the demonstration, data was transmitted over a 100 mile long, single fiber-optic channel at 107 gigabits per second. This is the first time that this technology has been achieved outside of a laboratory.

According to Siemens, the main advantage of their method of using electrical processing is that it makes it no longer necessary to split signals into multiple, lower data-rate signals. The new method avoids bottlenecks and makes transmissions faster and more cost-efficient.

For those of us drooling over the potentials of this new technology, commercial implementation is still a while away. Siemens expects that products based on their prototype will be on the market in a “few years.” Theoretically, researchers estimate the system will be able to handle in the region of 100,000 simultaneous DSL connections.