Overview

• Researchers from the University of Southampton and Microsoft reported a double‑nested antiresonant nodeless hollow‑core fiber that achieved 0.091 dB/km attenuation at 1,550 nm in laboratory tests.
• The design maintains losses below 0.2 dB/km over an unusually wide ~66 THz window and modeling indicates tunability across even broader wavelengths.
• Light travels about 45% faster through the air‑core structure than in solid silica, enabling longer spans between amplifiers and lower latency for long‑distance links.
• Validation included modeling to minimize leakage, surface scattering and microbending, with performance confirmed on fibers up to 15 km in length.
• Commercial rollout depends on international standardization and scaled manufacturing, with broader availability projected by a co‑author as potentially about five years away and with future research targeting even lower losses.