Recorded wireless data transmission – 938 gigabits per second

In the good old days, when the Internet was powered by steam, you had to leave your computer running all night just to download a stupid MP3 file. Today, the most modern WLAN standards can theoretically reach 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s), and 5G mobile communications have data rates of up to 20 Gb/s (100 Mb/s in practice), which are used by laptops and smartphones Data rates are generally not taken advantage of.

Impressive – but not quite a lot compared to the amount of data transferred wirelessly by the University College London (UCL) team: With a record speed of 938 gigabits per second, engineers achieved the 1 terabits per second dream Mark, the next 6G mobile communication standard should be implemented. In the UK, current 5G download speeds are around 100 Mb/s, which is nearly 9,400 times slower than the new record.

new frequency range

The research team from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering used a frequency range from 5 to 150 GHz, which corresponds to a bandwidth of 145 GHz. That's more than five times the previous record. The research results were published in the professional magazine “Journal of Lightwave Technology”.

Wireless networks typically transmit information via radio waves within a limited frequency range. At present, transmission methods such as WLAN and 5G mainly use low frequencies, usually lower than 6GHz. However, congestion in this frequency range has impacted the speed of wireless communications.

“Today, wireless communication systems are struggling to meet the growing demand for high-speed data access,” explains Research Director Liu Zhixin In a statement from University College London. “This is because the last few meters of capacity between the user and the fiber network are a barrier.”

But now engineers have solved this problem by transmitting information over a wider range of radio frequencies.

“Our solution is to use more available frequencies so we can increase the bandwidth without affecting signal quality, and we have the flexibility to use different frequencies,” Liu noted. “This ensures wireless networks are lightning-fast and reliable and removes speed constraints between devices and the internet.”

Electronics and photonics combine

To do this, the research team developed a new method. It combines advanced electronics with photonics that operates effectively in the 5-50 GHz range. Photonics is a technology that uses light to generate information and works well in the 50-150 GHz range.

It was the first time engineers had combined radio and optical technologies. “Our new approach combines two existing wireless technologies together for the first time,” Liu explained. “With this new system, we can transmit large amounts of data at unprecedented speeds, which is critical to the future of wireless communications.”

The research team clearly demonstrated that the new method works. In fact, wirelessly transmitting data at 938 Gb/s is impressive. In addition, the total bandwidth of 145 GHz is more than five times higher than the previous world record for wireless transmission.

Improvements in the use of radio spectrum are expected to help meet growing demand for wireless data capacity and speed.

Technology with huge potential

As such, this new technology has the potential to fundamentally change multiple areas, not least the Wi-Fi connections we rely on in our homes and public spaces. For example, to enable safe autonomous driving or to be able to operate at a distance during remote surgery, huge data rates are also required.

But it's also had a profound impact on our phones. Thanks to 5G and later 6G networks that use this technology, mobile users can get faster internet speeds and more stable connections. This means more people can use the network without experiencing lag in crowded cities or large events like concerts.

Watch a two-hour 4K movie in 0.12 seconds

This new method is particularly suitable for the impatient: downloading a two-hour 4K Ultra HD movie (such as the Trump film “The Apprentice”) (about 14 GB of data) takes about 19 minutes, using 5G speeds of 100 Mb/s . With new technology, it's a little faster: 0.12 seconds.

Although the technology has only been tested in the laboratory so far, work is underway to develop a prototype suitable for commercial testing. If successful, the technology could be integrated into commercial devices within three to five years.

(Human Resources Department)

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