DARPA has succeeded in creating hollow-core photonic-bandgap optic fiber, which allows light to travel along its length at around 99.7% the speed of light, or a 30% improvement over conventional (silica glass) optic fibers. In almost every fiber-optic network, light travels through plastic or glass fibers -- in DARPA's fiber, light travels through an air gap, allowing for networks that are faster, have more bandwidth, and traverse greater distances.