Scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the European Organization for Nuclear Research set a new land-speed record for Internet2 boosting up to 859 gigabytes of data in less than 17 minutes. The average data rate was measured at 6.63 gigabits per second between CERN's facility in Geneva, Switzerland and Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., a distance of more than 15,766 kilometers, or approximately 9,800 miles.
Internet2 is a second-generation network serving universities and research institutes.
Researchers aren't the only ones excited about blazing data speeds. This record speed of 6.63Gbps is equivalent to transferring a full-length DVD movie in four seconds. There are uses in astronomy, bioinformatics, global climate modeling and seismology, as well as commercial applications from entertainment to oil and gas exploration.