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Researchers develop multi-gigabit WiFi


A research group from the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) at Georgia Tech has recently released a study demonstrating high-speed wireless data transfers at a staggering 15Gbps at a one meter range. The system is still in its infancy, as data rates drop off steeply with just a little added distance (10Gbps at two meters, 5Gbps at five meters), but the possibilities for speeds of this sort are promising. At 10Gbps, researches say you could download the entire DVD of Beaches to a cellphone in five seconds, although the ultra-high frequency 60GHz band used for transmission is unable to pass through human skin, creating line-of-sight issues which engineers have yet to unkink. The standard, which will be called 802.15.3C, will probably be used for Personal Access Networks, like content kiosks, where all data is swapped in direct line-of-sight. Plans for the future include lowering power consumption, increasing bandwidth, and downloading all nine seasons of the X-Files to a BlackBerry in one minute.