Taiwan's team announces the fastest wireless technology of high-speed wireless communication system which can download 10 high-definition movies in one second. (File Photo/Fan Yang-guang)
Taiwan's National Science Council (NSC) announced Wednesday (Apr. 6) that it is working on the development of a high-speed wireless communication system that could have a data transfer rate equal to that of optical fiber.In view of the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablet computers, wireless communication today, at between 2 megabytes per second and one gigabyte per second (Gb/s) , might not be good enough in 10 years, said National Tsing Hua University Professor Pan Ci-ling.
Since the project to develop the system kicked off in 2009, a research team led by Pan has come up with a system compatible with and comparable to optical fiber, with a transfer rate of 20 Gb/s.
Named the Radio over Fiber (RoF) Communication System, the technology can allow people to "download 10 high-definition movies within the time it takes to snap one's fingers," said Pan.
However, although the technology has the potential to boost transfer rates by 20-200 times, it is still encountering technical problems, according to the team.
"Now we have the technology, but we are not certain when exactly that technology can be applied to all portable devices," said Pan, adding that the high carrier wave frequency of the system is both its advantage and disadvantage.
The bandwidth of optical fiber is large enough but lacks the convenience of wireless communication. The new RoF high-speed wireless communication system however can transmit signal over more than ten kilometers without losing signal, Pan added.
With mobile phones at 900 megahertz (MHz) , Bluetooth gadgets at 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) and the latest WiMax technology at 3.5GHz, the new system moves toward the higher end of the electromagnetic spectrum of 100GHz.
The RoF system also requires both file servers and end users to have a special transmitter and receiver, which makes it difficult to market to the public at present.
In addition, the high carrier frequency can achieve high security, Pan said, adding that the technology could also have applications in the national defense industry in the future.
"This is next, next generation technology," Pan said.
References:
Taiwan's National Science Council (NSC) 國科會
National Tsing Hua University 清華大學
Pan Ci-ling 潘犀靈
Source:Watch China Times.com
