The scientists currently expect the technology to get the most use in data centers, aircraft and other places where you need to shuffle a ton of information across relatively short hops in unforgiving conditions. The real challenge might be getting it to work across long distances. If that's practical, the internet could get considerably more headroom and increase the likelihood that your 4K video streams arrive without a hitch.

Update: Reader Tanj notes that this is specifically a record for VCSEL (vertical cavity surface-emitting laser) fiber, not fiber as a whole. However, that's still good news: it means higher-speed connections for low-cost fiber links, which are particularly common at the short ranges where copper still dominates.