Venezuelans set new WiFi distance record: 237 miles

It's been a while since we've seen people muck around with long-distance WiFi -- not only are DIY solutions like cantennas possibly illegal, sexier technologies like WiMAX have emerged to better serve those long-distance IP needs. WiFi's flame burns on in Latin America, however, where researcher Ermanno Pietrosemoli has managed to shoot an 802.11 signal 382 kilometers (237 miles) between two mountains in the Venezuelan Andes. Pietrosemoli, who is president of Latin American networking association Escuela Latinoamerica de Redes, used some of Intel's long-range WiFi tech and $60 worth of Linksys hardware to achieve throughput of 3 Mbps in each direction and beat the former record of 310 kilometers (192 miles). Pietrosemoli hopes to use the tech to serve developing nations, but seeing as we barely get 3 Mbps in our WiFi-choked apartment building with the laptop sitting next to the router, we're hoping he lets us in on the secret as well.

Read - CNET Article
Read - Interview with Ermanno Pietrosemoli

[Lucas @ Jun 19th 2007 7:27AM]

Lol, very crazy.
With your iPhone doing wi-fi in the forest.
Pretty cool, isn't it?

[Mr.Fuck @ Jun 19th 2007 5:08PM]

This is really stupid, before u call me racist or something like that, im not racist and have nothing against Venezuelans, but this is just stupid, why? most ppl there r poor and dont even have a computer, so only rich ppl will use this thing, also the government blocks lots of sites, so the only thing ur gonna be able to access will probably be some Venezuelan site about How good their President is, as i said i have nothing against Venezuela, but this Proyect is just stupid, and i know all this stuff cuz iv lived there.

[wellingj @ Jun 19th 2007 7:49AM]

Necessity gets results. You gotta cheer them on for applying what they know to make their country better.

[Alex Ion @ Jun 19th 2007 7:49AM]

Why with the iPhone?
Why not blogging from the top of the mountain?
:)

[Flinkman @ Jun 19th 2007 8:33AM]

Amazing! Congrats guys!!!

[Rainier @ Jun 19th 2007 10:26AM]

Maybe that's the signal Sayid had heard!

[Steve @ Jun 19th 2007 10:43AM]

Dirt cheap gas and tons of Wi-Fi?

I'm so moving to Venezuela.

[brutha @ Jun 19th 2007 11:19AM]

Chavez will shut it down

[axel @ Jun 19th 2007 11:43AM]

why will chavez shut it down? it's more likely bush will do that for him

[Tim @ Jun 19th 2007 11:47AM]

Just 2 days later in the jungle a starbucks opened up..

[Ralph @ Jun 19th 2007 12:32PM]

And just moments after the photo was taken they all burst into flames from the signal radiation. :)

[Matthieu @ Jun 19th 2007 3:19PM]

It was in Montevideo, Uruguay. Not in Venezuela !
(simply check the APC link)

[Matthieu @ Jun 19th 2007 3:33PM]

So Sorry I'm wrong
Shame on me :(

[Dean @ Jun 19th 2007 5:01PM]

The secret to getting faster than 3 Mbps when your laptop is sitting next to your router in a WiFi crowded building?

Plug in to it.

[Santiago @ Jun 21st 2007 7:54AM]

Congratulations from Spain,

I'm a wireless routers private tester (WDS, repeaters, etc.) and consider yours a great test.


Un saludo desde España!