Europe Is Testing 12.5 Gbps Wireless

Lorien_the_first_one brings word that in Europe, a breakthrough for post-4G communications has been announced. A public-private consortium known as IPHOBAC has been developing new communications technology that is near commercialization now. Quoting: "With much of the mobile world yet to migrate to 3G mobile communications, let alone 4G, European researchers are already working on a new technology able to deliver data wirelessly up to 12.5Gb/s. The technology — known as 'millimeter-wave' or microwave photonics — has commercial applications not just in telecommunications (access and in-house networks) but also in instrumentation, radar, security, radio astronomy and other fields."

Yikes, you can't compare this to 4G

[George_Ou]

4G is a mobile solution where the signal is radiated every direction and cells get blanketed by signals that are useful to mobile devices. Millimeter wave is a point-to-point technology that requires a clear line of sight and should be compared to free space optic laser solutions. You so much as block the beam with a tree branch and it doesn't work. Can we try to get some quality reporting on slashdot? We have plenty of experts in this community and headlines like these need to get slapped down. We don't need another clueless USA bashing headline.

Re:Yikes, you can't compare this to 4G

[qc_dk]

You find "Europe Is Testing 12.5 Gbps Wireless" to be USA bashing????
<sarcasm>Well I am truly sorry that someone outside the US is trying to do research. I'll stop mine immediately and wait for our benevolent super power for life to do the research and give me what I need. I'll just be over in this cave eating raw animals. I wouldn't want to be the reason for another US "bashing".
</sarcasm>
This post was tagged to comply with the Sarcasm-impaired Aid Directive (SAD)

Sorry you didn't get the point

[George_Ou]

The article is comparing 4G performance at 150 Mbps using only 20 MHz of spectrum to to millimeter wave technology which uses tens of GHz for line-of-sight application for multi gigabit links. Then it suggest that the rest of the world is lagging because of this bogus comparison. OK, maybe it's not just US bashing, but it's bashing the rest of the world.

Re:Take the stairs? Take the elevator?

[ion.simon.c]

Add to that the fact that most rural America sees a higher price because it is ... usually dominated by a single monopoly ... and there is your reason uptake is slow out here in the boonies.

This is the PP's point. :)

Re:Resonance

[Ginger Unicorn]

It depends what you mean by "no chance". Nothing we've learnt scientifically to date suggests this would cause cancer. Of course that doesn't mean there is "no chance" since we may learn something new that does suggest it would cause cancer.

And if you retreat to the position that something must create absolutely zero risk to be worth doing, then absolutely nothing is safe enough for you. Going out in the sun and breathing carry a risk of causing cancer.

From our current understanding, there is absolutely no rational reason to believe that microwaves from cellphones/wifi give you cancer, in the same way that there's no reason to believe that touching wood fends off bad luck. People still swear blind that it does, but there's no scientific reason to think so.

Re:Take the stairs? Take the elevator?

[hobbit]

Sure, if we were on an island

You are on an island. We have several countries on ours too :)