back to article Wi-Fi beam-steering tech could KILL OFF fixed home networks

Veteran US antenna team Ethertronics has brought out what it describes as an active antenna system that can offer beam steering for Wi-Fi. The system sits in either the client end of Wi-Fi to stimulate the return path or in an Access Point and will work with any Wi-Fi chip architecture and boost performance by between 15 per …

  1. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Fixed networks are harder to mess with....

    ... the more traffic I can keep in a cable, the better.

    1. MrXavia

      Re: Fixed networks are harder to mess with....

      Same here, I would rather have ethernet as an option on any fixed device I buy

    2. JamesTQuirk

      Re: Fixed networks are harder to mess with....

      I think this article is about, steering money into their pocket ....

      So until they can monitor a cable by induction, with a WiFi clamp-on device, then I may worry, if I had something to worry about ..

    3. Fatman
      FAIL

      Re: Fixed networks are harder to mess with....

      ... the more traffic I can keep in a cable, the better.

      I feel the same way, but, I have constant battles with the manglement types who want mobility (often that means not having to plug an Ethernet cable into the conference room switch).

      One of these days, one of them will completely piss me off, and I will break into his laptop and royally fuck it up just to prove the point

      They just cannot understand that wireless is another way of saying RADIO.

      Fucking IDIOTS!!!

  3. Peter 26
    WTF?

    Something smells fishy here. How can 20Mbps difference in speed from 70-90Mbps be the difference between rolling wireless out or not for all these providers. That is only a theoretical speed, each house is different? As I'm sure we all know here, there is plenty of other issues with wireless than simply the bandwidth.

    The thought that they can increase the bandwidth by 20Mbps and you'll have no more wireless problems, it's just... what, no words can describe that thought process that this article is trying to convey.

    Hey any improvement to the technology is great, don't get me wrong, but lets not go over the top on what this means.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      “In those high quality video applications our smart antenna system is the difference between the 70Mbps real world Wi-Fi performance in 90 per cent of a household and achieving the high 90Mbps

      Not the words "real world" and 90% of a household.

      Granted this is most likely US houses that are made of cardboard and sticks.

      1. big_D Silver badge

        With the reinforced concrete floors and ceiling here, I'm lucky to get 5mbps out of my 11n router and tablet. When I am working in my office the cellar, my tablet is connected to a USB-GB-Ethernet dongle, so that it can get decent throughput.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    3 TV's

    "When an AP wants to speak to three remote TVs at once that means each one can get 30Mbps per device" The device that sits in the same place all the time, connected to the wall by a cable, or two cables?

    And while I'm at it, how is the ability to get 90Mbps going to kill off standard fixed cable 1000Mbps?

    1. Oddlegs

      Re: 3 TV's

      The device that sits in the same place all the time, connected to the wall by a cable, or two cables?

      And how many of those cables attached to the three TVs mentioned are gigabit ethernet?

      Wired is undoubtedly, and will always be, faster and more secure than wireless but very few people have ethernet cabling throughout their house. Through constant, small improvements (such as this) wireless will eventually become fast enough for the vast majority of uses and at a hugely cheaper price than running new cables through all your walls.

      The ability to stream three UHD video streams seems like a reasonable benchmark for now.

      1. Tom 38

        Re: 3 TV's

        very few people have ethernet cabling throughout their house

        Before broadcast TV was launched, very few people had coaxial distribution networks throughout their house. Now everyone does. Gee, I wonder how that happened.

        Most (well thought out) new builds have ethernet plumbed in like they do telephone and aerials. Annoyingly, the people who put up my place thought I would want a phone socket in my master bedroom rather than a data socket, unlike every other room in the flat.

        1. Refugee from Windows

          Re: 3 TV's

          I'd see the future as being through POF, small enough to lose down the side of the carpet but a darned sight faster than wireless, plus no problems of channel congestion.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          @Tom 38

          Surely they still ran cat5 to your bedroom though, so all you need to do is replace the connector on both ends and it is ethernet.

          Now if they saved $1.50 by running satin phone cord to your bedroom instead of cat5 then I'd wonder how many other corners your builder cut :)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      Re: 3 TV's

      My god is it any Suprise IT people get such a bad name.

      "And while I'm at it, how is the ability to get 90Mbps going to kill off standard fixed cable 1000Mbps?"

      That's right because everyone in the world has Cat5e / 6 installed into every room in their house.

      1. GitMeMyShootinIrons

        Re: 3 TV's

        @Lost all faith

        "That's right because everyone in the world has Cat5e / 6 installed into every room in their house."

        In general, I agree. Ask most UK house builders about networking a new build house and, at best, you'll get a "no" and often you'll get a blank expression and "duuuhhh".

        However, its not uncommon to find TV/Satellite antenna coming in at the same place as phone/(internet), so a router to TV cable connection is both easy and convenient. In a different context (and there are split opinions on this), homeplug solutions offer another easy alternative.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: 3 TV's

        I do because I installed CAT5E cable in my nice stand alone US house "built of cardboard & sticks". Funny how easy and less costly it is to do work on them unlike the cold, damp, uninsulated brick, concrete or stone row houses built over there.

    3. Tom 35

      Re: 3 TV's

      It's to save the cost of having the installer run cable. Want to add a TV in your bedroom? Sure we will mail you a box just plug it in.

      For the consumer no more "the cable guy will be their sometime between 8am and 7pm maybe" to install your new outlet.

  5. Mage Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Most of this is nonsense.

    Expect 10% to 20% improvement in a real home.

    1. tony2heads

      Re: Most of this is nonsense.

      "boost performance by between 15 per cent and 45 per cent"

      i.e 15.001% improvement on a good day

  6. All names Taken
    Alien

    Shame about a landline tho?

    It seems that a landline of some sort is needed somewhere in the arrangement.

    Wouldn't it be nicer to dispense with wires altogether (and at the same time say: bye bye BT (and not buy buy BT?)?)?

    Imagine the cost savings there, no holes in the ground, very few wires in the ground?

    (Just in case it works I'll get a few IPs on tin foil hats)

  7. David Lewis 2

    Bandwidth

    The technology is excellent, it will help a lot in poor reception areas and improve battery life by reducing the RF power compared to using an omni-directional antenna.

    Two thoughts:

    1. So my router WiFi can support 3 30Mbps UHD video streams, but my ISP connection is only 5Mbps!

    2. It will be useful in mobile phones, improving connectivity even if you are "holding it wrong"!

  8. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    Meh

    This will really kick ass when paired with my 7 Mbps internet connection.

  9. Dan Paul

    They would make more money

    if they developed this technology for cell phones instead of wifi.

  10. crayon
    Facepalm

    "So my router WiFi can support 3 30Mbps UHD video streams, but my ISP connection is only 5Mbps!"

    What does the speed of your internal network have to do with the speed of your external connection?

    1. Fatman

      Are you missing a tag?

      What does the speed of your internal network have to do with the speed of your external connection?

      I was wondering, did you forget the <sarcasm> tag???

      The other alternative is that you have a limited experience with networking, and you have failed to realize that if one is streaming video from an external connection, if it has less throughput than your internal network, it WILL be a limiting factor.

  11. Zap

    On the one hand I do not know how we would cope without WiFi, but sometimes I wonder if we are all being Microwaved albeit on a low setting.

    With dramatic increases in diagnosis of everything from Cancer to Autism and ADHD, then the increase in Paedos and gender variances, one has to wonder if there are links or is it just what we are dumping into the sea and landfill (water table).

    Either way, I like as much as possible on a cable where I can protect it from hackers and get a decent speed without nuking my environment

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