How fast can a signal go from New York City to Tokyo?
No faster than 36.28 ms one way and 72.56 ms there and back. That is light in a vacuum along the 10,877 km great circle between the two cities. Optical fibre slows light by its group index, 1.4682, so through glass the same round trip takes at least 106.53 ms.
| Medium | One way | Round trip |
|---|---|---|
| Light in a vacuum | 36.28 ms | 72.56 ms |
| Light in glass, group index 1.4682 | 53.27 ms | 106.53 ms |
| Great-circle distance, WGS84 | 10,877 km | |
What does a real line add?
Cables leave the great circle, and every router and queue on the way adds time, so a measured round trip from New York City to Tokyo lands above 106.53 ms whenever the whole path is glass. A line that only just reaches 106.53 ms runs at 68.1 % of light, the most fibre allows.
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How are these floors computed?
The distance is Lambert's formula on the WGS84 ellipsoid between the population-weighted centres UN DESA gives for the two cities in World Urbanization Prospects 2025, checked against GeographicLib to within 100 m on ten pairs. Light covers 299,792.458 km each second. The glass figure uses Corning's group index for SMF-28e+ fibre at 1550 nm, 1.4682.