[LINK] NBN wireless systems

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Marghanita writes,

> The current WiMAX revision provides up to 40 Mbit/s[1][2] with the IEEE
> 802.16m update expected to offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds .. 
> <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX>  Marghanita

Yes. And perhaps NBN Co will elect to use this new CSIRO 'Ngara' system,
but of course i guess they won't .. sys development, hardware costs etc.


CSIRO uses old TV channels for wireless internet

By Felicity Ogilvie  Updated 1 hour 39 minutes ago 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/03/3056497.htm?section=justin

 
The CSIRO has invented new wireless internet technology that will give 
people in remote areas faster broadband by using old analog TV channels.

It is designed to fill the gap in the National Broadband Network (NBN), 
where some homes and businesses are too remote to be connected to optic 
fibre.

Although the wireless connection will never reach the same speeds as 
optic fibre, it will be a dramatic improvement over current wireless 
technology.

The CSIRO says the technology can reach speeds 100 to 200 times the speed 
of dial-up internet.

It will soon test the technology in Smithton, in a remote town in north-
west Tasmania that is one of the first places in the country being 
connected to the NBN.

Smithton Mayor Daryl Quilliam says the wireless technology is very 
important because the optic fibre that is going to be installed in 
Smithton as part of the NBN will not reach everyone. 

"Probably over half the people in our area live in the country and the 
National Broadband system as we have it now in Smithton is not going to 
cover the rural area," he said.

"A lot of the job creation and wealth that is created in the rural areas 
actually comes from not within towns but actually in the country and so 
to have a fast internet service is going to be extremely important for 
farmers in general." 

The technology is called Ngara, which is an Aboriginal word meaning 
listen, hear and think.

CSIRO's Dr Ian Oppermann says Ngara works by using old analog TV channels 
to make a fast connection to the internet.

The CSIRO hopes to eventually combine four analog TV channels and provide 
a wireless connection speed of 100 megabits per second.

But for the moment it is staying at 12 megabits per second.

Dr Oppermann says that is faster than it sounds, because up to six 
customers can log on at the same time and get the top speed.

"The person sitting in rural areas can actually become the content 
generator as opposed to just the content consumer," he said.

"So, whilst it might be email, Facebook and movies [that] download 
faster, what we're really trying to do is enable people who live in 
remote and rural areas to generate content, so they contribute to the 
services economy in the same way that someone sitting in an urban 
environment [does]," he said. 

He says the connection will be so fast that people in remote areas of the 
country will be able to use the internet to have face-to-face meetings 
with people in the city. 

'Impressive technology'

Technology consultant Robin Simpson says the new wireless network is 
impressive because it reuses old analog TV frequencies.

"A lot of rural properties already have a TV antenna - it might be 
sitting on top of a 40-foot pole to get the TV, but if they currently get 
TV then potentially with this technology they could get high-speed 
internet as well, using the same antenna," he said.

"It's quite interesting in that almost all of the other technologies that 
might be proposed for this need new antennas and new base stations - this 
one doesn't."

RMIT technology lecturer Dr Mark Gregory says the concept is good, but it 
could be some time before rural Australians get connected.

"It will take quite a few years to actually turn the research into actual 
products, so I wouldn't expect to see any outcomes in this area over the 
next three to five years," he said.

The development of Ngara has been funded by the proceeds of another one 
of the CSIRO's wireless inventions, WiFi.

The CSIRO has been paid $205 million from companies that had been using 
the popular wireless technology without paying for it.

First posted 2 hours 16 minutes ago 

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Cheers,
Stephen