AT&T lays groundwork for new wireless tech
Could AT&T’s AirGig be the future of wireless tech? The new experimental Project AirGig under development by AT&T Labs aims to introduce low-cost, multi-gigabit wireless internet speeds using power lines, the company announced in a statement. While still experimental, the technology would basically piggyback off existing power lines by transmitting millimeter wave signal along the cables, not through them, according to Forbes. AT&T is aiming to compete with Google Fiber’s 1 gigabit per second connection, which is expensive, needs new infrastructure, and is only available in certain urban areas. Part of the project involves patent-pending low cost plastic antennas that can be used to transmit 4G LTE and 5G connections. Unfortunately, field testing won’t begin until next year so the widespread availability of the service could still take a few years. Judging by 3G service in Egypt and bickering between MNOs and the NTRA in Egypt over the 4G licenses, we can expect multi-gigabit connections in Egypt right around never.