The team successfully transmitted data at speeds of 938 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) over a record frequency range of 5-150 Gigahertz (GHz) — achieving a total bandwidth of 145GHz, which is more than five times higher than the previous transmission record.
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The researchers developed an approach that combined electronic digital-to-analogue signal generators with light-based radio signal generators, enabling them to transmit across a wide range of frequencies from five to 150 GHz.
Traditionally, wireless networks transmit information over radio waves across a narrow range of frequencies, with current methods like Wi-Fi and 5G largely operating at frequencies below 6GHz.
However, congestion in traditional transmission frequency ranges can limit speeds.
By combining both radio and optical technologies, the UCL researchers were able to transmit data over a wider range of frequencies to avoid congestion and subsequently smash the previous records.
“Current wireless communication systems are struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for high-speed data access, with capacity in the last few metres between the user and the fibre optic network holding us back,” said Dr Zhixin Liu, senior author of the study from UCL Electronic & Electrical Engineering.
“Our solution is to use more of the available frequencies to increase bandwidth while maintaining high signal quality and providing flexibility in accessing different frequency resources. This results in super-fast and reliable wireless networks, overcoming the speed bottleneck between user terminals and the Internet.
The researcher suggested the new approach could “revolutionise” data transmissions, providing faster mobile internet speeds and more stable connections.
For example, a two-hour 4K Ultra HD film, which would typically be around 14 GB in size, would traditionally take 19 minutes to download over 5G at 100 Mb/s. The researchers suggest that using their new method, such a film could be downloaded in just 0.12 seconds.
“The beauty of wireless technology is its flexibility in terms of space and location. It can be used in scenarios where optical cabling would be challenging, such as in a factory containing complex arrangements of equipment,” said Professor Izzat Darwazeh, an author of the study and director of UCL Institute of Communications and Connected Systems (ICCS) from UCL Electronic and Electrical Engineering.
“This work brings wireless technology up to speed with the increased bandwidths and speeds that have been achieved with the radio frequency and optical communications systems within next-generation digital communications infrastructure.”
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