Thursday, July 26, 2012

HERE COMES 5G

    A new scientific project headed by New York University has received $2 million in funding to perform research in the 80 GHz radio spectrum, in an effort to learn more about 5G technology and how it can be used in wireless communications.
    Overall, about $800,000 is coming from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the rest from commercial companies and from New York State as represented by Empire State Development.
    The funding will be spent trying to get 80 GHz signals working over useful ranges and around obstacles with the intent of making the spectrum usable for 5G wireless in the mobile segment.
    Those frequencies are well above what one would normally consider valuable spectrum. The really good frequencies are below 1 GHz which is why they're all full of radio and TV transmissions.
    Working further up the dial needs new skills, and new research, with very few people understanding just how signals propagate in the Extremely High Frequency bands.