Australia testing Wi-Fi through TV antennas
updated 12:45 pm EST, Fri December 17, 2010
System claimed to reach speeds of up to 12Mbps
Australia's official research organization, the CSIRO, has begun testing a new Wi-Fi system, named Ngara, that routes signals through television antennas. The technology is claimed to reach data transfer rates up to 12 Megabits per second, even while a large number of users are simultaneously uploading data.
Ngara is geared for the rural population, essentially providing a potential Internet connection to anyone who already receives an analog TV signal. Like the US, Australia is planning to switch off its analog TV signals to open the spectrum for other forms of communication.
The technology supports up to six users in the same spectrum allocation as a single analog TV channel. TV towers would have to be outfitted with new antennas to receive upload signals, but proponents suggest most of the system relies on existing analog equipment rather than requiring a broad range of new infrastructure.
This CSIRO will formally introduce Ngara later this week. [via ZDNet]
