That's 1.6 trillion bits per second, or enough capacity to let 28 million people all surf the Web at current modem speeds--on a single glass strand no thicker than a human hair.

FORBES: Hooked on photonics

The current Iridium constellation has a stated operational life of just five years, more than one of which is already gone, but Motorola did have plans to extend the system's life, and eventually replace the satellites with models capable of handling data rates above 4800 bits per second.

FORBES: McCaw poised to scoop up Iridium

Thanks to an engineer's trick called "wave division multiplexing, " a single fiber-optic thread can carry upwards of 10 trillion bits per second.

FORBES: Digital Rules