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Idaho Companies Tout New Wireless Record
pavelvp writes "A small wireless Internet service provider in Idaho and a wireless equipment start-up claim to have set a new record for transmitting data across a wireless link this week. Microserv Computer Technologies, based in Idaho Falls, and Trango Broadband Wireless, a fixed-wireless broadband equipment maker, announced that they transmitted data over unlicensed wireless spectrum 137.2 miles." This unverified record would beat the previous record holders from the DefCon WiFi Shootout covered earlier on Slashdot.
"What sets apart the 125-mile record set at the Defcon Wifi Shootout Contest is that it was subject to a strict verification and certification process administered by four independent judges."
That, and the fact that the Defcon record was set using standard 802.11b radios rather than proprietary technology, and that the proprietary technology only beat Wi-Fi by 12.2 miles.
Note that Defcon has records for unamplified long distance links.
-Adam
DefCon: unamplified 802.11b; 11Mbps link; judges present & claim verified.
These guys: closed, proprietary protocol; 2.3Mbps link; no one around to verify facts.
As far as I'm concerned, the DefCon claim holds.
At least one good thing came out of my hometown. Now if they can just make wireless recivers less than $600 dollars they may have something.
It could be argued that there is no current body with the authority to license spectrum outside of Earth.
Unless the FCC claims the whole of our solar system in it's domain.
AFAIK if you want (in Germany at least) to use one of the several freely available radio frequency bands,you'll have to stay in tight barriers when it comes to a)output power b) signal "precisity" (do not spread into other bands AND DO NOT INTERFERE with electronic equipment) and c) antenna gain.
so - 200dB antenna just would be illegal. There's nothing with license-free since you in fact would violate laws and void your permission to use the bands.
Maybe that's unimportant since all that record has in common with previous records in Wifi-distance are frequency.
--be smart today. emit a bit. and get bitten!.
The earth is not flat.
This whole business of 'records' for wireless transmissions is just so silly, a game of 'mine is bigger than yours'. Until these folks are actually communicating with stuff that's farther from this planet than geostationary orbit, then, there's already plenty of folks communicating without wires, over distances far greater than 137 miles, as part of normal everyday operations, so common in fact, nobody thinks twice about it. For one off custom setups, well, there's a couple of little robots traversing around mars that do it daily. For highly specialized 'record breaking' stuff, look out to cassini and beyond.
"The equipment used was not based on standard 802.11 wireless technology, but instead was based on proprietary radio technology from Trango."
This would seem to be irrelevant to the Defcon record which was unamplified standard 802.11.
It's comparing apples and oranges, isn't it?
I suppose you can say it's a new "wireless" record, but then what about the Navy's ULF submarine communication methods? Aren't they "wireless"? And they go a lot further than 100 miles.
This seems like an advertising stunt to me.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
Then again, you could choose to live your life scared to death that 'pirates' may take over your little boat world, and go hide under uncle sam's skirt to prevent it.