How Microwave Transmission Is Linking Financial Centers At Near-Light Speed

The L.A. Times has a short but compelling article about the state of the art (and coming state of the art) in dedicated networking technology in one of the applications where you'd expect the customers to care most about it: connecting financial trading centers. Milliseconds count, and the traders count milliseconds. From the article, one example: "[New York-based networking company] Strike, whose ranks include academics as well as former U.S. and Israeli military engineers, hoisted a 6-foot white dish on a tower rising 280 feet above the Nasdaq Stock Market's data center in Carteret, N.J., just outside New York City. Through a series of microwave towers, the dish beams market data 734 miles to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's computer warehouse in Aurora, Ill., in 4.13 milliseconds, or about 95% of the theoretical speed of light, according to the company. Fiber-optic cables, which are made up of long strands of glass, carry data at roughly 65% of light speed."

Comments

"and the traders count milliseconds"

[superdude72]

The fact that the traders count milliseconds is proof that they are just scam artists. Parasites, producing nothing of value. High-speed trading is nothing but a mechanism for funneling money to the rich from everyone else.

Blimp in Middle attack?

[runeghost]

Step 1: Intercept the transmisson Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit!

Re:Nothing "near" about it

[davester666]

the next guy up will put up a series of dead-straight tubes, that they can create a vacuum in, then pass the microwaves through the tubes, just to get 97% of the speed of light.

and of course, he will also be able to claim a patent on transmitting the internet through a series of tubes.