MIT researchers have recently created a technology that will make the Internet 100 times or even 1000 times faster by replacing the electrical signals inside Internet routers with more efficient optical fibre signals.

Currently, optical fibres are used over great distances on the Internet. However, a router cannot handle optical signals simultaneously coming from different directions so these optical signals are converted to electrical signals where they are then stored in memory until they can be processed. Afterwards, the electrical signals are converted back into optical signals so they can be sent back out.

Vincent Chan, an electrical engineering and computer science professor at MIT, and his research team have developed technology to overcome this issue. They call their architecture “flow switching” where paths will be established so that optical signals will come in from one direction and sent back out in the same direction thus the conversion to electrical signals can be eliminated.

With more and more powerful applications being used over the internet, people are clamoring for higher internet speeds. Chan’s technology could solve our current problem of a congested Internet traffic. If we had a steadier Internet flow, ISPs would not have to concern themselves with throttling Internet speeds. For a fair playing field for all Internet users, ISPs should look into such optical fibre technologies rather than the traffic controlling technology they currently employ.

Read more about MIT’s research.