Wi-Fi speeds are about to triple

[Hum]

Qualcomm (QCOM, Fortune 500) announced plans this week for new technology that it says could triple Wi-Fi speeds in homes, offices and on public networks.

 At the moment, Wi-Fi networks can only serve one device at a time, cycling quickly among different users. That creates slower speeds for everyone when more devices connect to the network.

"On a network like this, streaming or video chatting can be like sitting in the driver's seat at rush hour: you'll get to your destination, but it's going to take some time," Qualcomm said.

The company's new approach, which follows seven years of research, allows networks to transmit data to multiple groups of users simultaneously using algorithms that adapt on the fly to changes in usage. The technology is known as "MU-MIMO," which stands for "multi-user, multiple input, multiple output."

Qualcomm plans to sell MU-MIMO-enabled chips to manufacturers of wireless routers and access points, as well as to companies that make smartphones, tablets and other consumer electronics.

When both the network and its users are employing the technology, Qualcomm claims it will boost speeds by two to three times. Devices on MU-MIMO networks that aren't equipped with the technology won't see quite that improvement, but should still gain some additional benefit.

more

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

i read this earlier. about time!

[AMPSV]

Sweet about time

[Hum]

What will this take to reach us -- a year ?

[Argi]

A year to reach us?  How about how long will it take for the ISPs to keep up so we can actually make use of the speed?

[Nashy]

A year to reach us?  How about how long will it take for the ISPs to keep up so we can actually make use of the speed?

 

You're in the USA and complaining about speeds?  Laugh.

[Argi]

You're in the USA and complaining about speeds?  Laugh.

 

Hey, I put the Liberals last when I postal voted. ;)  Trust me, the Aussies here are very sad.

[Nashy]

Hey, I put the Liberals last when I postal voted. ;)  Trust me, the Aussies here are very sad.

 

My exchange has one provider in it.  ADSL1 is the same price as ADSL2 on Telstra.  I download a whopping 500KB/s :-(

[Hum]

A year to reach us?  How about how long will it take for the ISPs to keep up so we can actually make use of the speed?

I thought it depended on Router hardware makers ...

 

MU-MIMO-enabled chips to manufacturers of wireless routers and access points

[Argi]

I thought it depended on Router hardware makers ...

 

MU-MIMO-enabled chips to manufacturers of wireless routers and access points

 

??  

[+BudMan MVC]

You're in the USA and complaining about speeds?  Laugh.

 

US internet speeds rank mid 30's with other countries -- so sure why not complain.  Guess its about right we should be so low in the ranks, just like our kids math, reading and science scores ;)

 

http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries/

 

Maybe if our kids had faster internet they would study more ;)  vs having to wait for the latest cat video to load..

[xrobwx71]

You're in the USA and complaining about speeds?  Laugh.

It's never fast enough bro. When Google fibre comes, the novelty will soon wear off, content will grow, and we'll bitch again.  :)