The heat is on: get your broadband over gas lines
Not satisfied with the speed of the broadband access services offered by your cable and telecom providers? Another option may soon be available, according to San Diego-based Nethercomm Corp.: broadband in gas (BiG). We have to admit, when we first heard about this, we thought it sounded like a lot of hot air (sorry), but according to Nethercomm, BiG can offer 10-gigabit broadband using "the private spectrum isolated within natural gas pipelines." Essentially, what Nethercomm is planning is a broadband system that pumps data from existing local hubs, through gas lines and into homes, where it can be accessed using existing cable modems. While the idea of stringing Ethernet cables from our gas line sounds like something we wouldn't want to attempt on our own, the concept doesn't sound all that far-fetched after all. Of course this means that in addition to the endless marketing mailings and calls we already get from the cable and telecom companies, we'll now have to listen to the gas man's pitch about broadband when he comes to read the meter.
[Via TRFJ]
