Posted by Greg Mills
Apple, according to the rumor mill, is getting ready to launch the iPhone 5, which is likely to run on the newer 4G LTE networks that are just getting ramped up. This will give us real world mobile internet speeds that will seem to sizzle compared to 3G.
Remember when the first iPhone ran on the Edge? Sort of like dial-up modems of 15 or 20 years ago. The “World Wide Wait” was the experience of the time. The Edge was the predecessor of the 3G networks we see today and was so slow you could take a nap while your page downloaded.
It takes a few years for the newest cellular radio technology to be ready for adoption by the world’s cellular networks. Some of the buzz words are starting to come out that in a few years will be the fodder of tech articles related to the 4.5G or 5G networks. Some of those buzz words may be “fully duplex radios”.
Rice University has announced one important new feature that is likely to be part of the newer standard. “Full duplex wireless technology” will allow cellular devices to send and receive data at the same time on one frequency. This feature is particularly helpful as it doubles the effective capacity of the available bandwidth. Currently you send on one frequency and listen on another frequency. See: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9219752/Rice_demonstrates_full_duplex_wireless_technology
What makes this radio breakthrough even more helpful is that the way Rice University researchers did it wouldn’t require more space in the cell phone or major changes in the cell tower equipment.
The cell phones using the new full duplex system would require an additional antenna, which isn’t that big a deal using the latest technology. Fractal designs for antenna have revolutionized that feature as well.
Remember the old CB radios where you would speak and say “over,” the other person would speak and then say “over” to avoid canceling each other out. WIth the new full duplex system, both users could speak at once and the extra antenna would cancel out the things you said on your end but transmit all of what you are saying to the other party.
What will they think of next? How about a way you can talk on an AT&T cell phone without the call being dropped? I was shocked when we went to our local AT&T store a couple of weeks ago and the salesman told me he knew of me and my famous slogan “AT&T, no bars in more places”.
I am shocked, someone at AT&T must be reading Greg’s Bite. Perhaps that someone at AT&T will cancel my contract send me a Verizon iPhone 5 and get me off their backs…. Well, I can dream can’t I? If I start ragging on Verizon you will know dreams come true.
