Super Wi-Fi Flies to the Rescue

Typically when you think of a superhero, you might conjure up images of Captain America, Spiderman, Batman or maybe even my personal favorite, Superman. But these days, as various mobile devices continue to be introduced into the corporate infrastructure at a rapid pace demanding an increased amount of bandwidth, the real hero is proving to be Super Wi-Fi again and again.

Super Wi-Fi, as opposed to just modern-day Clark Kent-like Wi-Fi, is much more powerful than current networks already in place in most businesses and homes. In fact, it is touted as boasting the capability needed to pass through concrete walls or travel over hills and around trees, a recent article revealed.

According to the FCC, the solution is, in essence, all about utilizing white space for unlicensed devices in TV bands. Super Wi-Fi could one day soon yield the 600Mhz band that encompasses enough spectrum for unlicensed use to make it easily accessible everywhere and by anyone located throughout the great United States.

Neil Grace, FCC spokesperson said, “The FCC’s incentive auction proposal, launched in September of last year, would unleash substantial spectrum for licensed uses like 4G LTE. It would also free up unlicensed spectrum for uses including, but not limited to, next generation Wi-Fi. As the demand for mobile broadband continues to grow rapidly, we need to free up significant amounts of spectrum for commercial use, and both licensed and unlicensed spectrum must be part of the solution.”

So, what could the potential benefits from Super Wi-Fi be? The range of connectivity for one would be increased significantly, with forecasts predicting that it would be enhanced by nearly a dozen miles. And the ramped-up bandwidth powered via the next-generation platform isn’t too shabby either, with analysts estimating nearly 20Mbps up and 6Mbps down.

Yet, as with any new technological innovation, there remain opponents to the idea. For example, Hard Fields, the writer of the article “Why the Proposed Unlicensed Auction Is Such a Phenomenally Bad Idea -- The Economics” stated, “Licensing encourages the licensee to maximize the profitability of the spectrum... This is why there are only a handful of large licensed network operators and several dozen smaller providers. By contrast, there are several thousand wireless ISPs using unlicensed spectrum to provide broadband in rural areas unprofitable for wireless providers. In addition, there are tens of thousands of coffee shops, hotels, and other establishments offering Wi-Fi. Hundreds of manufacturers put Wi-Fi – or other protocols using the unlicensed bands – into everything from printers to refrigerators.

Ultimately we will have to see how this debate plays out, but one thing is for certain: having more open spectrum networks will enable Wi-Fi connections to be much faster, work over a bigger distance and assist WISPs in reducing the cost to the end-user to gain Internet access.

One company that has jumped headfirst into the Super Wi-Fi pool is KTS Wireless which, alongside parent company Koos Technical Service, has been designing, developing and manufacturing wireless products and solutions for 30+ years. Earlier this week, it was revealed the company had become a Gold Sponsor of the Super Wi-Fi Summit, slated to take place August 27-29, 2013, at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

To find out more information on this not-to-miss event, click here.