Feb 14, 2010

1Gbps Streaming?


The average internet user in the United States pays for broadband ranging from 1 - 12Mbps, allowing us to stream videos and download songs at a fairly decent rate. Even with these modern "fast" speeds, there are still situations in which faster speeds may be necessary. Siemens recently went to 500Mbps streaming with the use of white LED's, but there is a solution that works even better than that.

A Penn State graduate student and a professor have but a mechanism that sends data at a blazing 1Gbps. "Their setup sent data across a room by modulating a beam of infrared light that was focused on the ceiling and picking up the reflections using a specially modified photodetector. The pair says that their measurements show the system could support data rates "well beyond" the one gigabit per second they are currently claiming."

A wireless N connection is currently only capable of about 300Mbps and anyone who has done large data backups over this speed knows that it can still take quite some time, especially considering multiple users on the same router who may be using its resources. I personally look forward to this being available to the public. Take that, FIOS.

1 comment:

  1. I agree Joseph that the need for faster speeds is something that needs to be addressed. It's nice to see that they are making progress in this field.

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