By: Larry Darrell
An In Depth Analysis of Samsung's Latest Technology
Samsung’s engineers and development lab have been busy. Usually we are amazed by the unrivaled power of its smartphones and microchips. But this time, the smartphone giant has something extra special for us. Samsung recently revealed the new WiFi wireless standard it has been working on: the 802.11ad, which is potentially five times faster than what we have currently.
What’s so special about this new standard? As is the case with wireless standards today, there are always two specs to be aware of. The theoretical speed the standard can reach and its actual performance. Usually the two are very distinct due to a variety of environmental reasons, although that might all change now.
The numbers associated with the new technology are staggering. It runs on 60Ghz, and will offer up to 4.6 Gigabits per second, translating into an amazing 565 Megabytes per second (5 times faster than the current 866 megabits per second/108 Megabytes per second). The Korean technology giant claimed that in the most ideal conditions, the technology could transmit a 1GB video in just 3 seconds and could easily support multiple HD streams simultaneously.
So how have they managed to achieve this? To understand the new technology, we must first look back at what currentstandards offer. Wireless standards started with the 802.11b, which is now rare and outdated. It was followed by the currently more common g, n, and ac standards. Each of these have a high theoretical limit but perform a lot worse in real world conditions. The answer to that partly lies in the frequency and the number of networks running in the same physical space. “G” operates on 2.4GHz radio signal, “N” operates on both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz band while “AC” runs exclusively on the 5Ghz band.
It is common knowledge that the 24 Ghz is extremely crowded—there is a lot of interference from the various networks (WiFi or otherwise) that run on this frequency. While there are 14 channels available, one can only use around 3 to 4 channels and if you have many networks running the same channel, you can safely expect network performance to run like a drunken turtle. This is why when the most common Wireless “N” and later the wireless “AC” was released, they used the 5Ghz—much wider band making it easier to not worry much about interference.
Another factor impeding actual performance is signal loss due objects around us. Theoretical limits are usually tested in laboratories where the network runs in optimum conditions. But when you set up a network at your office, for example, the signal has to deal with walls, halls, bends, tables, chairs, and floors; all this contributes in degrading the signal.
An interesting point to note is that as you move to a higherfrequency band, range decreases severely: so a 5Ghz signal will generally have a lot less range than a 2.4Ghz signal if both are set up as an omni-directional antenna forming a spherical bubble around the transmitting device.
How has Samsung dealt with all these issues?For the co-channel interferenceproblem, as mentioned earlier, the 802.11 ad runs at 60Ghz. So if the 5Ghz network had little inference problem, now the case is even less so. Samsung said, “Unlike the existing 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi technologies, Samsung's 802.11 ad standard 60GHz Wi-Fi technology maintains maximum speeds by eliminating co-channel interference, regardless of the number of devices using the same network.”
But then how will they deal with the short range? Samsung has taken the beam-forming idea from “N” and “AC” standards, and improved upon it to ensure that signals are as strong as possible.
What is beam forming? Well, unlike the idea of spreading signals uniformly with an omni-directional antenna as a sphere , beam forming allows the signal to be broadcast directly from the access point or router to your wireless device and back (without wasting signals in space).
So what does this all mean? For the first time we may actually see real-world speeds come close, at least closer than they have been in the past, to theoretical limits. So while you may not actually have 1GB transfer in 3 seconds, you can expect it to do so much faster than what you currently have. It is important to note however, that a network is only as fast as its slowest component. So unless all your devices work on the new standard, you won’t be able to enjoy its benefits. But Samsung said it is likely that compatible devices will start appearing next year and the new technology will be integral to upcoming gadgets like the Galaxy S6 smartphone and Smart Home device.
Is internet broadband fast enough to keep up with the technical marvel from the Korean giant? That’s the real question.
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