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Scientists Test World's Fastest Wireless Network
MojoKid writes "Scientists in Pisa, Italy claim to have set
a new world record for the fastest wireless data transmission. They report
that they were able to achieve throughput speeds above 1.2 Terabits per second, which they say beats the previous wireless data transmission speed record of 160 Gigabits per second, achieved by Korean scientists. The technology that the Pisa scientists utilized actually shares a significant similarity with fiber optics. Unlike Wi-Fi or microwave communications, which use radio-based transmissions, the Pisa scientists used a technology called free-space optical communications. In free space optics, an energy beam is collimated and transmitted through space rather than being guided through an optical cable."
While technically achieved without wires, the thing with WiFi is that you can used the omnidirectional nature of the transmission (along with refraction and diffraction of the signal) to access the signal anywhere within its range, often without line of sight. Naturally, free space optics requires an uninterrupted line of sight and significant alignment procedures. Now I'm not saying line of sight networking is useless (it was used to great effect after 9/11 and is great for places you need a temp. network but can't string a wire) but comparing it to radio WiFi is a bit apples/oranges.