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Call it the holy grail of radio transmissions if you must, but even if you're not about to toss that label on it, there's no question that the work being done in Stanford's engineering labs could destroy quite a few preconceived notions about wireless interference. Demoed as a concept last year, a newfangled wireless technology developed in Palo Alto is proving that signals can indeed be sent and received at the same time. Outside of the cellular telephony world, this seemingly simple occurrence doesn't really happen -- typical wireless signals have to take turns when it comes to listening and transmitting. As an example, it's impossible for a WiFi router to "shout" out signals while also being intelligent enough to quiet its own voice in order to hear "whispers" from a connected device. The breakthrough came when researchers found that radios could be tweaked to filter out the signal from its own transmitter, something that already happens within noise-canceling headphones. If this can be packaged into a commercially viable platform, it could instantly double the amount of information sent over existing networks, and on an even grander scale, it could allow airplanes to radio into control towers simultaneously (a feat that's shockingly impossible with today's physics bearing down). Head on past the break for a downright enlightening video on the matter.

Continue reading 'Stanford gurus enable two-way radio communications. Over.'

'Stanford gurus enable two-way radio communications. Over.' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so there's a good chance that the developing 802.11ac Gigabit wireless standard will receive its official seal of approval long before 2048, but by 2015? Given that it took 802.11n a full seven years to move on from Draft N status, we aren't holding our collective breath. Regardless, there's obviously a need for a far faster interface than what we're using now, and the Wi-Fi Alliance is obviously doing everything it can to keep on keeping on. According to a loose study by In-Stat, Planet Earth will go from zero 802.11ac devices in 2010 to one billion by 2015, with Vice President of Research Frank Dickson noting that a draft of 802.11ac should be cleared at some point in 2011. As for backwards compatibility? Looks like you'll just have to wait and see.

Continue reading Study: 802.11ac devices to hit the one billion mark in 2015, get certified in 2048

Study: 802.11ac devices to hit the one billion mark in 2015, get certified in 2048 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Only a handful of Muni-Fi projects ended in anything greater than eternal tears here in the States, but hopefully O2's up for the challenge across the pond. The UK carrier just announced its intentions to "refine the WiFi landscape" in its home nation by launching O2 WiFi, with a raft of "premium hotspots" to be rolled out and managed by key venue owners. As of now, it's hard to pinpoint who exactly will begin hosting O2's routers, but the key part is this: they'll be open for all customers to access for free, no matter which mobile or broadband provider they are with. Making no bones about who it's coming after, the operator has affirmed its intentions to "at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013," with the rollout to begin as early as today and continue for as long as it takes. 'Course, doubling up The Cloud may take a little more work given that Sky just picked it up for an undisclosed sum, but hey, we're sure every Briton in existence would just love to see these two duke it out for WiFi supremacy.

Continue reading O2 plans free and open WiFi network across the UK, Sky picks up The Cloud

O2 plans free and open WiFi network across the UK, Sky picks up The Cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Only a handful of Muni-Fi projects ended in anything greater than eternal tears here in the States, but hopefully O2's up for the challenge across the pond. The UK carrier just announced its intentions to "refine the WiFi landscape" in its home nation by launching O2 WiFi, with a raft of "premium hotspots" to be rolled out and managed by key venue owners. As of now, it's hard to pinpoint who exactly will begin hosting O2's routers, but the key part is this: they'll be open for all customers to access for free, no matter which mobile or broadband provider they are with. Making no bones about who it's coming after, the operator has affirmed its intentions to "at least double the number of premium hotspots currently offered by BT Openzone and The Cloud combined by 2013," with the rollout to begin as early as today and continue for as long as it takes. 'Course, doubling up The Cloud may take a little more work given that Sky just picked it up for an undisclosed sum, but hey, we're sure every Briton in existence would just love to see these two duke it out for WiFi supremacy.

Continue reading O2 plans free and open WiFi network across the UK, Sky picks up The Cloud

O2 plans free and open WiFi network across the UK, Sky picks up The Cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Wall Street Journal (1), (2), BBC, O2 UK  | Email this | Comments

Ever wonder what happened to LEDs as a WiFi alternative? Well, wonder no more, because visible light communication is here -- in the municipal offices of St. Cloud Minnesota, at least. Starting tomorrow, LVX System, a Minnesota start-up, is installing the first of a series of LED fixtures that will use flashing lights to connect office workers to the internet, while saving big on the electric bill. The fixtures also function as regular overhead lights, using 36 watts of energy where 100 watts were once necessary. The setup consists of clusters of LEDs that switch on and off thousands of times per second at intervals undetectable to the human eye. The flashes emit binary code data -- off equals zero and on equals one -- that is received by special patented modems. Lights on these modems then transmit data back to the fixtures, and voila, you've got internet. According to LVX, light-powered networks are far less crowded and far more secure than their predecessors. Unfortunately, LVX's current incarnation transmits data at about 3Mbps -- a mere pittance compared to standard WiFi or Ethernet. Then again, 3Mbps is certainly fast enough for a city employee to perform really important tasks like keeping track of their favorite gadget blog, so we'll take it.


[Thanks, Andrew]

LVX System launches visible light communication in the US, finally originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 05:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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