5G Research Nears Breakthrough in Speed

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Published on 09-11-2011 12:55 AM

10 Comments

A new technology that allows devices to send and receive data at the same time could debut in a few years as the foundation for future 5G networks, its developers say.

Currently in development at Houston's Rice University, the "full duplex" wireless technology would allow wireless devices such as cell phones and tablets to both "talk" and "listen" to wireless cell towers on the same frequency – something not possible with today's 3G and 4G technology.

"Our solution requires minimal new hardware, both for mobile devices and for networks, which is why we've attracted the attention of just about every wireless company in the world," said Ashutosh Sabharwal, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice.
"I expect people may start seeing this when carriers upgrade to 4.5G or 5G networks in just a few years."

Sabharwal and his team have been developing full duplex transmission since 2010, and this summer the group set new performance records with a real-time demo of the technology that produced signal quality at least 10 times better than any past results.

Full duplex technology could easily be implemented into current devices by tweaking current hardware.
"Device makers love this because real estate inside mobile devices is at a premium," Sabharwal said.
Full duplex wireless was long thought impossible, Sabharwal said. To understand why, imagine two people standing far apart inside an otherwise empty arena. If both people shouted at the same time, neither would hear what the other was saying.
The easy solution is to have only one person speak at a time, and that's what happens on two-way radios. Cell phones achieve two-way communication by using two different frequencies to send and listen.

Rice's team overcame the full duplex hurdle by employing an extra antenna and some computing tricks. In the shouting analogy, the result is that the shouter cannot hear himself, and therefore hears only the other person.
"We send two signals such that they cancel each other at the receiving antenna -- the device ears," Sabharwal said. "The canceling effect is purely local, so the other node can still hear what we're sending."

Sabharwal says his team is already working on the next phase of the technology, called asynchronous full duplex – that is, one wireless node can start receiving a signal while it's transmitting.
Asynchronous transmission would be important for carriers wishing to maximize traffic on their networks.

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10 Comments

cibu - 09-11-2011, 10:42 AM
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All these students are indians ...Should be called Chili University , not Rice

Quarterquack - 09-11-2011, 12:05 PM
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Cibu you're an idiot. And whoever wrote this article is, too. True 4G technology doesn't exist. In technical terms we're somewhere around the 3.75 mark.

cibu - 09-11-2011, 02:06 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Rings

Cibu you're an idiot. And whoever wrote this article is, too. True 4G technology doesn't exist. In technical terms we're somewhere around the 3.75 mark.

Nope , not an idiot . Am I an idiot because I tell it like it is ?

http://network4g.verizonwireless.com...rizon-wireless read this

johhny - 09-11-2011, 09:39 PM
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@Darth Rings shutup 4g networks exists for long time you just didn't know

anon-y-mouse - 09-12-2011, 01:03 AM
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cant even get plain 3g here still all stuck on 2g

Jimathome - 09-12-2011, 01:56 AM
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@cibu That's because Indian students bother to learn something at school same goes for Chinese, it means that they're smarter than us !

tesco - 09-12-2011, 10:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Darth Rings

Cibu you're an idiot. And whoever wrote this article is, too. True 4G technology doesn't exist. In technical terms we're somewhere around the 3.75 mark.

My local wireless providers all started calling their networks 4g. They claim that the definition has been changed to include anything above 3g speeds. That would make sense in my opinion; if console manufacturers were each to release a new console, each being only slightly better than it's predecessor, would you not call it an eighth gen console (7th gen being the current gen: 360, ps3, etc.)?

This all assuming that 3g/4g means "3rd/4th generation", which I'm now worried it might not be.

mr. nails - 09-13-2011, 04:45 AM
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these bastards jumped the gun! 5g isn't supposed to be out until 2019!!!

your_creator - 09-13-2011, 02:23 PM
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Chili is a country, and rice grows predominantly in Asian countries i.e. India

Quarterquack - 09-14-2011, 12:11 AM
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Originally Posted by tesco

My local wireless providers all started calling their networks 4g. They claim that the definition has been changed to include anything above 3g speeds. That would make sense in my opinion; if console manufacturers were each to release a new console, each being only slightly better than it's predecessor, would you not call it an eighth gen console (7th gen being the current gen: 360, ps3, etc.)?

This all assuming that 3g/4g means "3rd/4th generation", which I'm now worried it might not be.

Along with phone makers, service providers are cheating ITU out of their mobile data system, and their specifications. It's a very broad topic that I can talk about for days really, (I've followed phones diligently for a decade and above).

The closest example I could give you is if (setting trademarks aside), HP, Dell, ASUS, etc. all got together and released a new kind of computer port and called it USB4, and then Best Buy came along and started marketing the first USB4 compatible PC's on the market on their shelves. Technically, without Intel's hand, and without the specifications Intel set for the research levels achieved before a working USB 4.0 system is on the market, this is just the name of USB bastardized to get mass appeal. Yes, USB4 might be faster than USB 3.0 by all means, but it is not what actual USB 4.0 technology is/is supposed to be. It's just a label.

You are correct that the G represents generation, but each generation is supposed to roll according to speed/range specifications that the international committee decides upon, and such speeds have not been achieved yet (I believe the 4G spec is 1Gbit/s, but the current "4G" phones can only hit a theoretical of 144mbit/s connections).

There was an unofficial 2.5G in the past, an official 3.5G, and this current "4G" generation is technically an unofficial 3.75G. Thought I'd include that so you can see that generations don't exactly go up in integers. Also, the time lapse between generations is unlimited. True 4G could be 2015, while true 5G could be 2050. It's not according to when new tech is out, it's according to when standards are met.