Verizon has completed a real-world field test of its fiber-optic FiOS system in which it pumped nearly a gigabit of data per second from one lucky customer's business out across the Internet. According to the company, the test "was intended to demonstrate in a live network setting that currently deployed FiOS equipment can support higher bandwidth services and can deliver 1Gbps without major change to the network."

In theory, this should be a cakewalk. Verizon's GPON (gigabit passive optical network) technology currently provides a 2.4Gbps download pipe—though it's one split between all the subscribers on a local node.

To test the system's ability to push 1Gbps, Verizon ran a second fiber line from its local office in Taunton, Massachusetts to one lucky business user who already had FiOS. The new line was connected to a separate fiber optic terminal and setup for a 1Gbps speed tier. The new link was then speed-tested using both a local server and one 400 miles away that required a journey over the Internet.

Verizon claims that the link topped at a 925Mbps to the local server and 800Mbps to the remote server. The 1.4Gbps of bandwidth remaining on the fiber meant that the existing FiOS users on the local node didn't have their own bandwidth affected.