back to article Stand aside, Wi-Fi - these boffins are doing 40Gbps over the air

It won't make fibre-optic networking obsolete anytime soon, but it's still an impressive achievement: German researchers have demonstrated a one-kilometre point-to-point wireless transmission at 40Gbps. The Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics and the Karlsruhe Institute for Technology researchers used 240GHz …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "It won't make fibre optic networking obsolete anytime soon"

    I cannot see wireless ever replacing physical. Eve wireless needs wires; every AP has wires, most towers have wires. The more wireless that is added requires more wires. With 100Gbps over fiber available and 400Gbps coming soon, wireless will always lag. You can also have multiple fibers running to the same location whereas wireless they can interfere.

  2. Christian Berger

    Where's the advantage over free space optics?

    I mean 240 GHz probably doesn't go well through walls... or dirt on the antenna.

    1. kevjs
      IT Angle

      Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

      Plenty of unused spectrum space for Point to point links - the local wireless broadband supplier mounts the antennas needed for there service on the pole used for your TV aerial and simply runs an Ethernet cable into the house from where a standard router is connected. Doesn't matter that the signal doesn't get through walls as the antenna is on the roof.

      As for dirt - that might be more of a problem!

    2. Suricou Raven

      Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

      I imagine it isn't quite as finnicky about alignment (Try hitting a 5cm2 panel with a laser pointer from a few kilometers away), and it should be a bit more tolerant of fog and such atmospheric annoyances.

      1. Nigel 11

        Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

        How much do lasers that can be modulated at 40Gbits/second cost, compared to this transmitter? That may well be the main advantage.

        And does a 250GHz carrier go through or around a bird? Line of sight optical won't.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

          Line of sight optical will go through a bird. Just amp up the power. :)

      2. RTNavy
        Coffee/keyboard

        Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

        Don't forget the movement of the 500 foot tall building in a stiff wind.

    3. larokus

      Re: Where's the advantage over free space optics?

      Walls? at 240Ghz will it pass through a sheet of paper?

  3. asdf
    Trollface

    darn

    And here I thought I was Mr. Cutting Edge with my 2.6 Gps wireless setup (4.9 - 5.9GHz, GigaXtreme Technology ftw). It is nice to be able to stream uncompressed 1080p HD video (along with 7.1 surround sound, not that I need it usually using tv speakers lol) with no lag though. Even allows gaming wirelessly in another room on another tv away from console. Still range is only 100 feet and not 1 km. If this unit gets very warm to the touch I bet their system has a buttload of waste heat.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009DHPUDI

    1. asdf

      Re: darn

      Guess I got the downvote for bragging or appearing to advertise. Nah the unit is $200 and I am hardly some snob. I also have no financial interest just think the unit is really neat and kind of cool using technology so much faster than what most people's 802.11 is doing these days. I am sure its very specialized which is how it gets such high bandwidth but is still cool at least to me.

  4. itzman

    interesting wavelength

    Tried to find out a bit more about it - 1.5mm it is. Used in radio astronomy. Its deep infra red.

    not hard to generate, and not much to interfere with it.

    Used in potential non-X-ray type security scans.

    SHOULD get through small holes - i,e. wire mesh. Dust and rain shouldn't be a huge issue. Birds? well you might get a bit of packet loss ... but I suspect this will be domestic use - inside the home, and it SHOULD bounce around fairly well.

    we will see in due course. I don't see it as a particularly good point to point last half mile replacement.

    1. Pet Peeve
      Boffin

      Re: interesting wavelength

      Yeah, this would be "millimeter wave radio", right? Good news - really small antennas. Bad news - line of sight, will reflect off an index card.

      Wouldn't this be even more sensitive to rain fade than a lower frequency, not less sensitive?

  5. Andrew Jones 2

    ....and will this need a car battery being lugged around to power it?!

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