How Fast Is Internet Data?

Internet signals travel at 200,000 km/s through optical fibre — two-thirds of vacuum light speed. Every Google search is a 15,000 km round trip, on average, completed in under 200 milliseconds.

Subsea cables carry 99% of all international internet traffic — there are around 550 of them on the seabed, each barely the thickness of a garden hose.

• 15,000 km round trip per Google search
• Slower than light in air due to fibre material