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Fun and somewhat related fact - this is one of the main advantages of hollow-core transmission fibers! As far as I know, currently only used to extend the range of HFT orgs...

Terrestrial radio links are similar in that they can be lower latency than fibre though spectrum concerns can come into play.

Radio links can also often be straighter. Easier to go over someone’s house then ask permission to dig a trench.

Hollow core fiber? Total internal reflection requires the core to be a higher index of refraction than the cladding, so I wonder how that works!

Turns out, it functions differently. Instead of total internal refraction it has to rely on weird physics like photonic crystals. The pictures are absolutely wild.

https://www.rp-photonics.com/hollow_core_fibers.html

https://www.google.com/search?q=hollow+core+fiber&tbm=isch

Fascinating; thanks for the links. I wonder how the splicing process works for that.

("1.5x slower" == "its speed in optical fiber is 1/1.5 = 2/3 of the speed in vacuum")

It's all relative.