China Completes 1,007-Kilometre Hollow-Core Fibre Test at 64 Tbps

1,000 kilometers in just 3.43 milliseconds: China makes new breakthrough in next-generation communications network technology

By Asia Brief newsroom · Published November 7, 2026 · 1 min read

Night view of a car speedometer illuminated in orange, showing kilometers per hour.

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What changed

China completed a two-way real-time transmission test across 1,007.48 kilometres using hollow-core fibre. The test sent 64 terabits per second in each direction, with a one-way transmission time of 3.43 milliseconds. China Telecom and Changfei Fiber Optic Cable say the system used existing transmission equipment.

Why it matters

Hollow-core fibre carries signals through air rather than glass. That makes the signal faster: the test’s transmission delay was reported as 30% lower than with conventional solid-core fibre, while capacity was twice as high and transmission distance 60% longer than the best current solid-core performance.

That matters most for links between data centres. AI training and inference often depend on moving large amounts of data between computing sites, so faster, higher-capacity connections could improve coordination and reduce pressure to add GPUs or storage.

The result also moves hollow-core fibre beyond a laboratory curiosity. It has already been used on a Shenzhen–Hong Kong financial line, with more than 10 commercial or pilot projects reported in Asia and Europe. Broad replacement of solid-core fibre is still uncertain: the test does not establish deployment cost, reliability at scale or a timetable for wider rollout.

Analysis Perspective

Sources (7)

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