Broadband
Transmission speeds of 100Mbps over 1km on existing copper networks
In an ideal world we would all access the Internet over fiber optic cables that reach right up to the front door to deliver blisteringly fast transmission speeds. Unfortunately, we don’t live in an ideal world and many of us are forced to rely on aging copper network infrastructure. Now, Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs has demonstrated technology that boosts the transmission speeds over two copper pairs to 100Mbps over a distance of 1km. This could see such infrastructure given a new lease of life, satisfying consumer’s need for speed for some time to come. Read More
It will be like going from black-and-white television to high definition color TV - that’s how researchers at America’s Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have envisioned an upcoming leap forward in undersea acoustic imaging. Tim Stanton and Andone Lavery have developed and tested two broadband acoustic systems that leave conventional single-frequency systems eating their dust... or water droplets, or whatever. Developed over 20 years, the new technology could revolutionize oceanography, and also has huge commercial and military potential. Read More
Google to launch experimental 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home network
Google plans to roll-out an experimental trial of an ultra high-speed 1 gigabit per second (1Gbps) fiber-to-the-home (FFTH) broadband service that is around 100 times faster than most Americans experience today. Google says the service will be delivered to a number of cities or communities – 50,000 to 500,000 residents - somewhere of its choosing in the USA in a effort to investigate new ways of making Internet access better and faster for everyone. Read More
Anyone familiar with a loss of internet connection will attest to the absolute standstill of productivity it can cause, and in an office environment it can near spell disaster if not dealt with swiftly. With a view to counteracting this issue and possibly gearing up towards the shift to increasingly cellular technologies, Netgear has unveiled the Wireless-N 300 router with DSL Modem Mobile Broadband Edition – or rather, the DGN 2200M. The router combines 802.11n wireless with an integrated ADSL+2 modem as well as optional cellular connectivity through an external 3G/4G/WiMAX modem. Read More
Wireless technology is moving fast, and here's a reminder of just how fast. At the beginning of 2009 we were reporting on Australian Telco Teltra achieving a world record network speed of 21Mbps, now Ericsson has demonstrated its latest mobile broadband technology, HSPA Evolution, with lightning speeds of almost 42Mbps. Read More
Swedish telecommunications company TeliaSonera has launched the world’s first commercially available 4G mobile broadband network. While an international roll out of up to twenty five countries is planned in the next year, the network will initially be made available in the central parts of Stockholm and Oslo, and is designed to provide speeds up to 100Mbit/s - ten times faster than those of the existing 3G networks. Read More
Discarded and left-for-dead, old TV broadcast channels (called “white spaces”) that have been freed up by the transition to digital TV in the U.S. are being given new life and used to wirelessly deliver high-speed Internet connectivity to business, education and community users. Under an experimental license granted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Spectrum Bridge designed and deployed a wireless TV white spaces network to distribute broadband Internet connectivity in Claudville, Virginia. To ensure the local residents make the most of this new high-speed connectivity, Dell, Microsoft and the TDF Foundation have contributed software and hardware to the local school and the town’s new computer center. Read More
A new technology that applies the same principles used by ADSL to improve the capacity of data transfer over copper and wireless broadband could potentially increase the data capacity of optical fiber cables tenfold. It’s creators say the technology, known as optical Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (oOFDM), offers an inexpensive way drastically boost the capacity of increasingly strained broadband networks and improve download times around the world. Read More
Another global broadband offering from Verizon: the UMW190
Not even a month has passed since Verizon announced that it had partnered with the USA arm of China's ZTE to release of the AD3700 USB modem which offered users worldwide coverage from a single device. And now the company is at it again, declaring the forthcoming availability of the UMW190 USB modem, which does essentially the same job in a slightly smaller and cheaper form. Read More
The US division of China's ZTE and mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless have launched the AD3700, a high speed USB Mobile Broadband modem which quickly connects to the fastest possible network wherever in the world you find yourself. It's compatible with modern versions of Windows, connects to your laptop via swivel hinge USB 2.0 and, according to the tech company partnership, should prove a great option for staying connected while on the go. Read More