Paper: China space laser zaps competition with data speed record

Beijing-based team says its technology can connect satellites to beam six films a second coast-to-coast, from a device smaller than a suitcase. Engineers use ‘rule-breaking’ innovations to achieve transmission speeds of 10 gigabits per second in on-ground testing. — SCMP

A team of engineers in Beijing has developed a small space laser that they say will allow satellites to communicate over long distances at significantly faster speeds than similar technology currently available.

The technology is fast enough to send six high-definition films from Seattle to New York in less than a second, according to research team leader Yang Jian, director of advanced communication technology with defence industry contractor the Beijing Institute of Remote Sensing Equipment.