October 21, 2007 9:01 PM PDT

More than 100 times faster than Wi-Fi?

Radio scientists at IBM Research and MediaTek are teaming up to develop a wireless transmission protocol that will deliver files more than 100 times faster than Wi-Fi.

A prototype millimeter wave chip

(Credit: IBM)

The idea is to take advantage of the 60GHz spectrum, according to Mehmet Soyuer, the lead researcher on the project, who is based in IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. These chips will be able to transfer files at around 2.5 gigabits per second, compared with the 11 to 54 megabits of Wi-Fi. Hence the 100 times faster calculation, Soyuer said.

Put another way, these chips could transfer a 10 gigabyte file wirelessly in five seconds or so, something that would take several minutes on a Wi-Fi network.

The 60GHz spectrum is part of the millimeter wave spectrum, which runs from 30GHz to 300GHz. SiBeam, which is the driving force behind the WirelessHD consortium, has been showing off 60GHz chips in TVs and will make a big push for them at CES. Other companies are also coming out with high-end wireless video and audio chips.

IBM brings the radio expertise to the project while MediaTek will work on the digital signal processing.

IBM and MediaTek want to have something out in three years.

Originally posted at News Blog
Recent posts from Crave
Wireless Sony photo frame shoots for Vaio design
Porsche Cayenne S Transsyberia to debut in Paris
Fry's Electronics leaks more slim-Zune details
Kaskade, 'Beautiful Thing': Free MP3 of the Day
DVD ripping goes legit with RealDVD
Add a Comment (Log in or register) 4 comments
Wow thats a big leap from 54Mbps
by retardovic October 22, 2007 1:52 PM PDT
That's definitely awesome! I once heard though, that in China their internet speeds are somewhat related to this just not wireless..
Reply to this comment
Wow! That's fast!
by oehrli December 14, 2007 10:34 PM PST
At 2.5 Gbps, that's faster than most corporate network. It's definitely faster than my wired network at home.
Reply to this comment
Wrong math
by snomunke January 3, 2008 4:45 AM PST
2.5 Gbit/s ...10 Gigabyte file = 80 Gigabits...therefore, it would take 32 seconds to download the file...not 5 seconds.
Reply to this comment
by toytunergt April 25, 2008 3:32 PM PDT
a Gigabit is different from a Gigabyte
Reply to this comment
Powered by Jive Software
advertisement

About Crave

The name says it all. Crave is our blog about gorgeous gadgets and other crushworthy stuff. If you would like to contact Crave with a tip or comment, please write to: crave@cnet.com

Add this feed to your online news reader

Crave topics

advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right
  • News - Business Tech

    IBM's EMEA revenue growth shaping up with same past path

    IBM announces its third quarter revenue growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa is shaping up to post a similar growth pattern as the first half of the year - a.k.a. a moderate IT spending environment.

  • Gallery

    Photos: Top 10 reviews of the week

    Here are CNET Reviews' 10 favorite items from the past week, including the TiVo HD XL, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H50, and the Dish Network's newest digital TV converter box.

  • The Open Road

    Disservice to partners may bite Apple

    The Mac maker does many things right, but partner management is not one of them. Delays in App Store updates and general lack of communication is frustrating developers.

  • Coop's Corner

    Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0

    Demo's impresario goes public with a tart and smartly written riposte to the shoot-from-the-lip crowd.

  • Video

    Katie Couric reflects on first Webcast

    The political conventions are over and so are CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric's first series of Webcasts. CNET's Kara Tsuboi sat down with Couric on the final night of the Republican National Convention to discuss what she liked about Webcasting, some of her most memorable guests, and whether TV news will still be around by the next round of conventions.

  • News - Digital Media

    Want top search results? Tread carefully

    In the business of promoting Web sites to top search results, some push limits to find what tricks are allowed. But there's evidence the trade is getting more respectable.

  • Video

    YouTube plays party politics

    During the presidential campaigning four years ago, YouTube didn't even exist. Now it's a tool candidates must master to get their message across. CNET's Kara Tsuboi stops by the YouTube upload booths at the Democratic and Republican conventions to find out why Google's video site has such a big presence in Denver and St. Paul, Minn.

  • News - Gaming and Culture

    Say Where brings voice recognition to iPhone apps

    Forthcoming iPhone app from Dial Directions aims to give users a way to get information from sites like Yelp, MapQuest and others by speaking instead of typing.

  • News - Cutting Edge

    Execs predict next Google-like tech

    On eve of company's 10-year anniversary, researchers and business pundits speculate about what technologies might someday have as much impact as Google.

  • Gallery

    Images: The art of 'Spore' prototypes

    Will Wright and his Maxis team worked on dozens of prototypes to test the elements of their soon-to-be-released evolution game. Here's a sampling.

  • Webware

    Google announcement coming later today

    Google is scheduled to make a presentation at 11:45 a.m. PDT on a still unknown topic at the TechCrunch50 event in San Francisco. We'll be there.

  • Green Tech

    TI does energy efficiency on a chip

    Its line of Piccolo microcontrollers can reduce power consumption significantly of home appliances, hybrid cars, LED lighting, and even solar panels.