A new prototype chip-based antenna array that can be installed into a cellular base station smaller than a shoebox could use ultrahigh frequencies to supercharge future wireless networks, reports the MIT Technology Review.
Developed by Intel, the technology builds upon research completed last year by Samsung and scientists from New York University. Reportedly capable of transmitting data at speeds of more than a gigabit per second over up to two kilometers, Samsung’s technology relies on 28 GHz frequencies, which are able to carry more data but can be blocked by buildings, people, and even raindrops. This obstacle has traditionally rendered millimeter waves impractical for mobile devices.
To solve this issue, Samsung developed a 64-antenna array. Data can be transmitted over any of 64 antennas, enabling control over how the signal is divided up and even in which direction it is sent. However, Samsung’s demonstration required benchtop-scale equipment that steered beams mechanically toward intended users, making it unsuitable for commercial deployment.
Now, Intel has developed similar technology that shapes the direction of the signal electronically and can be packaged into a device smaller than a milk carton. The company claims its version is the most efficient example of the technology yet.
“We can scale up the number on such antenna arrays as high as practical to increase transmission and reception sensitivity. The barrier is only regulatory issues, not technological ones,” Ali Sadri, director of the millimeter wave standards and advanced technology group at Intel, said.
Intel’s millimeter wave modular antenna array technology was demonstrated earlier this month at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, Spain.