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In Florida, a Cell Phone Network With No Need For a Spectrum License

Posted by timothy on from the emergent-order-rocks dept.

holy_calamity writes "Technology Review reports on a cell phone network in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, like no other. Instead of paying to reserve a section of wireless spectrum its owner, xG Technology, uses cognitive radios that steer signals through the unlicensed 900MHz band more normally used by cordless phones and baby monitors. The radios in both handset and base station scan for gaps left by other devices in that band and make dynamic connections that constantly hop frequencies to ensure a good link. The network is designed to show off the tech, which the company says could be used in conventional cellphones to access extra spectrum or white spaces devices."

4 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. kind of an annoying name by Trepidity · · Score: 2, Insightful

    "Cognitive radio"?

    A protocol that continually finds and hops to not-interfered-with frequencies is perhaps "intelligent" in a generic sort of way, but calling it "cognition" is a bit weird. It's pretty standard communications-theory stuff.

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    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
  2. Re:It isn't going to work by Pharmboy · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Also, why am I now being forced to preview? Maybe I like making errors.

    Slashdot wasn't losing users at a fast enough rate, so this is part of a new program to piss those of us off that have been here for many years, and get us to finally leave forever. It is about to work.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  3. Re:It isn't going to work by Pharmboy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Thank you. Finally restored the old, crappy, but understood format. I wish Slashdot would spend less time writing code, and more time reading and editing articles if they really want to improve the site. I'm just hanging by a thread as it is.

    --
    Tequila: It's not just for breakfast anymore!
  4. Re:This could be distributed/home grown GSM's brea by King+InuYasha · · Score: 2, Insightful

    To be clear, in Europe, the 900MHz band is currently used for straight GSM and EDGE. UMTS/WCDMA (GSM 3G) runs on the 1800/2100 MHz band pair. In the USA, the AWS band pair (used by T-Mobile) is a subset of that. It uses the lower half of the 1800MHz for uplink, and the lower half of the 2100MHz band for downlink (which is why it is referred to as the 1700/2100 MHz band pair). T-Mobile uses the 1900MHz band for GSM, but also supports the 850MHz band for roaming, since AT&T uses that band. AT&T's UMTS bands are 850MHz OR 1900MHz. Most areas use the 1900MHz band, but rural areas use 850MHz.