What can you do with the world's fastest internet? Here's what 1.02 Petabits per second gets you
Download every video game on Steam in a second, stream millions of 8K videos at once. That's how fast is the world's fastest internet in Japan.
- Jul 10, 2025,
- Updated Jul 10, 2025 3:11 PM IST
Imagine downloading the entire Netflix library in less time than it takes to open the app. That’s not a joke, it’s the kind of future Japan gave us a glimpse of last month.
In June 2025, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) quietly broke the global internet speed record, transmitting data at a jaw-dropping 1.02 petabits per second. That’s 1,020,000 gigabits. Per. Second.
But what does that actually mean for you and me? Let’s break it down.
Download every video game on Steam. In one second.
Steam’s entire game library? Roughly 1.2 petabytes. With Japan’s new internet speed, you could technically download every game ever made, from Baldur’s Gate 3 to Counter-Strike 2, in just under 10 seconds.
Stream 10 million 8K videos at once
At that speed, you could stream 10 million ultra-HD 8K videos simultaneously. That’s like giving every person in New York City and Tokyo their own crystal-clear movie stream, with bandwidth to spare.
Download 1,27,500 years' worth of music in a blink
Spotify estimates that one minute of audio is about 1MB. With 1.02 petabits per second, you could download 67 million songs in just one second, or roughly 1,27,500 years of nonstop listening.
Backup the entire contents of Wikipedia
Wikipedia in English is around 100GB. With these speeds, you could download all of it 10,000 times in a single second. Want every language version? No problem. You’d still have plenty of bandwidth left.
Enable real-time global data centres and AI
Beyond fun comparisons, this speed has serious implications. With cloud computing, generative AI, autonomous vehicles, and real-time translation tools demanding massive data throughput, this kind of internet backbone could power instantaneous global AI processing, linking data centres across continents like they’re on the same local network.
How did Japan do it?
This wasn’t just a lab trick. NICT used standard-sized fibre optic cables, the same kind used around the world, but with four cores and over 50 different wavelengths of light to transmit data. Even more impressive, they maintained this insane speed over 51.7 kilometres, making it viable for real-world infrastructure.
So, when do we get this at home?
Not anytime soon, unfortunately. Consumer internet isn’t even scratching terabit speeds yet. But telecom giants, data centre operators, and governments are paying attention. What Japan just pulled off could be the blueprint for the next generation of undersea cables, national broadband backbones, and 6G networks.
Until then, we’ll just have to keep dreaming of a world where “buffering” is ancient history.
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Imagine downloading the entire Netflix library in less time than it takes to open the app. That’s not a joke, it’s the kind of future Japan gave us a glimpse of last month.
In June 2025, researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) quietly broke the global internet speed record, transmitting data at a jaw-dropping 1.02 petabits per second. That’s 1,020,000 gigabits. Per. Second.
But what does that actually mean for you and me? Let’s break it down.
Download every video game on Steam. In one second.
Steam’s entire game library? Roughly 1.2 petabytes. With Japan’s new internet speed, you could technically download every game ever made, from Baldur’s Gate 3 to Counter-Strike 2, in just under 10 seconds.
Stream 10 million 8K videos at once
At that speed, you could stream 10 million ultra-HD 8K videos simultaneously. That’s like giving every person in New York City and Tokyo their own crystal-clear movie stream, with bandwidth to spare.
Download 1,27,500 years' worth of music in a blink
Spotify estimates that one minute of audio is about 1MB. With 1.02 petabits per second, you could download 67 million songs in just one second, or roughly 1,27,500 years of nonstop listening.
Backup the entire contents of Wikipedia
Wikipedia in English is around 100GB. With these speeds, you could download all of it 10,000 times in a single second. Want every language version? No problem. You’d still have plenty of bandwidth left.
Enable real-time global data centres and AI
Beyond fun comparisons, this speed has serious implications. With cloud computing, generative AI, autonomous vehicles, and real-time translation tools demanding massive data throughput, this kind of internet backbone could power instantaneous global AI processing, linking data centres across continents like they’re on the same local network.
How did Japan do it?
This wasn’t just a lab trick. NICT used standard-sized fibre optic cables, the same kind used around the world, but with four cores and over 50 different wavelengths of light to transmit data. Even more impressive, they maintained this insane speed over 51.7 kilometres, making it viable for real-world infrastructure.
So, when do we get this at home?
Not anytime soon, unfortunately. Consumer internet isn’t even scratching terabit speeds yet. But telecom giants, data centre operators, and governments are paying attention. What Japan just pulled off could be the blueprint for the next generation of undersea cables, national broadband backbones, and 6G networks.
Until then, we’ll just have to keep dreaming of a world where “buffering” is ancient history.
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine