Intel researchers stretch Wi-Fi to cover 60 miles

Kevin M.

Intel recently demonstrated a modified 802.11 radio link with a data rate of around 6 Mbps and a range of more than 60 miles.

Intel achieved this extraordinary range using off-the-shelf hardware, including parabolic antennas, for its project, dubbed the rural connectivity platform (RCP). The key innovation was a change, borrowed from cellular networks, to the underlying 802.11 media-access-control layer that allowed for a more efficient signal, and translates into longer reach.

RCP is one of several research projects intended to extend the Internet into rural areas, especially in developing countries. The idea is to use low-cost, low-power Wi-Fi radios to bridge between wired Internet connections in a city and wired and wireless connections in small, rural villages. RCP's unprecedented range minimizes the need for lots of wireless nodes to span those distances.

RCP has been in development by Intel Research and Intel's Emerging Markets Platform Group for about two years, and has been talked about online for about a year. There are pilot RCP deployments in a handful of countries: India, Vietnam, Panama and South Africa. Earlier this month, the chip maker demonstrated the link in operation during an open house at its Berkeley Research Lab in California. In the demonstration, users viewed a live video image streamed over a 5.8GHz RCP connection from a camera about 1.5 miles away.

i first thought this must be using millimeter wave (ghz) or laser radios for the reach, but then saw intel has innovated transmission algos (using time domain) in lower freq wifi spectrum - this tech (like mm wave) will have typical LOS issues, which is obviously why this tech is intended as a "rural" connectivity platform - i wonder if they will have the rain/fog issues that mm wave radios do

if your interested in reading more, here's the story