October 27, 2011 02:21 pm EDT

Multi-gigabit wireless broadband within our grasp, capped data plans laugh in our face

Bring it on, LTE-Advanced. In case you've been looking for ways to eat up your capped data plan any faster, a researcher from Samsung proclaims that speeds up to 5.5gbps (yes, with a g) might be reachable within the next five years -- as long as all the stars align, that is. Jerry Pi demonstrated the idea, which involves the use of millimeter wave spectrum that lies between 3GHz and 300GHz. If -- and that's a big if -- the spectrum can be secured, the next hurdle will be the engineering challenge of deploying a wireless broadband network at such high frequencies; even tiny oxygen molecules, let alone walls and trees, would easily break up a signal at that range. Pi mentions that he and his fellow researchers are working on a few ideas to get around these obstacles, and outlines everything in significant detail in his 100+ slide presentation, which can be accessed below. Don't get us wrong: the idea of broadband data speeds hitting 5.5gbps makes us salivate, but it would definitely need to come with an unlimited plan. Just sayin'.

Multi-gigabit wireless broadband within our grasp, capped data plans laugh in our face originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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