About a year ago, Arris teased a system capable of 4.5Gbps downloads, and while that technology was in the proof-of-concept phase last June, it's beginning to look more like a real possibility. German network provider Kabel Deutschland just notched a new download speed record using Arris' C4 CMTs and Touchstone CM820S cable modems: a mind-blowing 4,700 Mbps (4.7 Gbps). The cable operator set that world-record rate in the city of Schwerin, where it recently updated its network to 862 MHz. The network may be capable of delivering those 4.7Gbps speeds, but the company noted that current laptops and modems can't even process such blazing data transfer rates. And before you North Americans get too excited, note that KD uses the EuroDOCSIS specification on the 8MHz channel, while the DOCSIS uses the 6MHz scheme in the US and beyond. Still, that's not to say that other cable providers like Verizon FiOS have been slacking lately -- 300Mbps downloads are nothing to scoff at.

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