An old 300-baud modem did transmit 300 bits per second.

The fastest lines today transmit 1.7 billion bits per second.

It has a range of several hundred feet and can transmit approximately 40,000 bits per second.

This could transmit two or three bits per symbol.

Now, Lucent's researchers are working on technology for the next generation, equipment that will be able to transmit 40 billion bits of information a second.

Conventional coaxial cable has enough capacity to transmit three million bits of data or more a second.

By moving to a higher-order constellation, it is possible to transmit more bits per symbol.

The new Nortel product uses 160 channels, and each channel can transmit 10 billion bits of information a second.

OC-192 equipment can transmit 10 billion bits of digital information a second using a single wavelength of light.

It would also be able to supply 50 watts of electrical power and store or transmit a million bits of information per second.