Radio breakthrough could boost WiFi performance

Researchers at Stanford University have developed new radio technology that is able to send and receive over the same frequency at the same time. According to the scientists, the technology uses two transmitters in the hardware at each end of a conversation, with the two transmitters working in a similar way to noise-cancelling headphones. The technology has the potential to double WiFi performance, but only when you're sending and receiving at the same time.

“The two transmit signals interfere destructively at the receive antenna to create a dead signal that the receiver can’t ‘hear’,” said Levis. “So you create this null position where the receiver can’t hear that signal and so is able to receive packets from other areas.”

The researchers claim this immediately makes radio equipment twice as fast as existing technology, and with further tweaking could lead to even faster and more efficient networks.

Current phone networks allow users to talk and listen simultaneously but, the scientists said, they use a work-around that is expensive and requires careful planning.

More details at PC Pro.