Scientists in Italy Set Wireless Network Speed Record

Home / News

Scientists in Italy Set Wireless Network Speed Record

By CircleID Reporter
September 14, 2008, 1:36 am PDT Views: 7,949 Add Comment

A team of Scientists in Pisa, Italy are reported to have set a new world record in wireless data transmission speed. Italian researchers from Sant’Anna University along with the Japanese Waseda University and the National Institute of Information and communication technology in Tokyo, for the “first time in the history of telecommunications” achieved throughput speeds of above 1.2 Terabits per second. Previous record, set in Korea, had been160 Gigabits per second.

The technology used in the experiment is known as free-space optical communications which the Harvard Broadband Communications Laboratory defines as:

“Free space optical communications is a line-of-sight (LOS) technology that transmits a modulated beam of visible or infrared light through the atmosphere for broadband communications. In a manner similar to fiber optical communications, free space optics uses a light emitting diode (LED) or laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) point source for data transmission. However, in free space optics, an energy beam is collimated and transmitted through space rather than being guided through an optical cable. These beams of light, operating in the TeraHertz portion of the spectrum, are focused on a receiving lens connected to a high sensitivity receiver through an optical fiber.”

A translated version of the report can be read here.

By CircleID Reporter

CircleID’s internal staff reporting on news tips and developing stories. Do you have information the professional Internet community should be aware of? Contact us.

Visit Page

Filed Under

Comments

The Weekly Wrap

More and more professionals are choosing to publish critical posts on CircleID from all corners of the Internet industry. If you find it hard to keep up daily, consider subscribing to our weekly digest. We will provide you a convenient summary report once a week sent directly to your inbox. It's a quick and easy read.

I make a point of reading CircleID. There is no getting around the utility of knowing what thoughtful people are thinking and saying about our industry.

VINTON CERF
Co-designer of the TCP/IP Protocols & the Architecture of the Internet