Inside the glass fibers connecting our wireless world

Most of the time, glass is right in front of us, but when it comes to the internet, whether it’s 5G, Starlink satellites, or Wi-Fi, it’s easy to miss the 750,000 miles of fiber optic cables that currently run. under our oceans.

These little strings of glass do not carry photos, emails, and video chats from our phones to data centers for friends and family around the world. Through these thin strands of hair, they can instantly communicate with almost anyone, anywhere and everything is based on a 5,000-year-old technology: glass.

Little has changed in the way we use glass over its long history. It has always been a transparent and durable material through which light passes. And because light can travel fast and at high frequencies while carrying a lot of encrypted information, a near-perfect glass cable is a secure way to send all of our communications. When we started researching materials to shape our future, Gorilla Glass was the obvious choice.

But my path has changed rapidly in the fiber and the urgent need not only to improve data transmission speed but also to provide Internet access for all of humanity. Check out our video to learn more about how these tiny strands of glass create the backbone for the present and future of communication.