AT&T Banks on Network Speed and 2 Telecom Stocks Seeing Action

AT&T (NYSE:T): AT&T Labs researchers are prepared to report data from a recent test that set a record for long-distance network speeds at the Optical Fiber Communication and National Fiber Optics Engineers Conference, scheduled for March 19. The researchers, led by AT&T researcher Xiang Zhou, improved a technology letting existing 100 gigabit-per-second fiber connections be used to transmit over four times the amount of data. When used with a new low-loss optical fiber, they are able to sustain that data rate at distances exceeding 7,500 miles. The new technology has the potential to significantly increase the amount of bandwidth on the Internet’s backbone, particularly over submarine cables connecting the continents, Ars Technica reported.