Story 21FVT Does millimeter wave cellular broadband offer rural applications?

Does millimeter wave cellular broadband offer rural applications?

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in mobile on (#21FVT)
A New York University (NYU) student research team pushed the envelope for millimeter wave network range in a recently conducted field test in rural southwest Virginia. Setting up a millimeter wave transmitter on the porch of the country home of their professor Ted Rappaport, the students found that they could receive signals at distances of over 10 km (6.2 mi) even when line of sight was obstructed by a hill or a stand of trees. Equally significant, the millimeter wave transmitter needed less than 1 watt (W) of power operating at 73 GHz.

The FCC in June opened 11 GHz of new spectrum in the millimeter wave band to network operators for the development of 5G technology. The results of the NYU student research team's field trial bode well for prospective carrier-grade applications, particularly regarding using existing cellular telecom infrastructure to provide 5G broadband services in underserved rural areas, according to Prof. Rappaport. The results could broaden industry participants' and regulators' perspectives regarding the use of millimeter wave technology

Others disagree with that conclusion. University of California, San Diego professor of electrical and computer engineering Gabriel Rebeiz pointed out that the field trial was conducted over two days when the skies were clear. Previous research has found that rain can reduce millimeter wave signal strength at a rate of 20 decibels per kilometer, the equivalent of nearly 100-fold per kilometer. Despite its potential in urban areas, Rebeiz still believes proposing to use millimeter wave technology in rural areas is a non-starter.
Reply 3 comments

Awesome! (Score: 2, Funny)

by Anonymous Coward on 2016-11-14 08:51 (#21H3V)

Broadband AND body scanning AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!

Noise Floor (Score: 2, Interesting)

by venkman@pipedot.org on 2016-11-16 04:10 (#21S4Z)

I bet the signal/noise ratio is pretty good right now since the spectrum just opened up. What would it look like once everyone starts broadcasting?

Re: Noise Floor (Score: 2, Informative)

by evilviper@pipedot.org on 2016-11-16 19:20 (#21VZF)

What would it look like once everyone starts broadcasting?
Very high frequencies have long been considered undesirable because they don't penetrate through or go very far around walls, trees & leaves, hills, curvature of the earth, etc. In fact they're greatly attenuated even by just the oxygen and light moisture in the atmosphere. Plus the millimeter wave band is extremely wide, leaving a big open space for everyone to fit-in without competing with each other. These features that makes them undesirable for one-way broadcasting of TV/radio and long-distance coverage, also makes them ideal for high-speed, short-range, two-way cellular communications, where people a mile away don't want or need to pick-up the signal at all.