NYU Researchers Claim 5G wireless Breakthrough

Researchers at New York University’s Polytechnic School of Engineering are claiming an important discovery that could improve the prospects for 5G wireless communications in high frequency bands.

Fifth generation wireless communications is expected to require wide swaths of spectrum in order to support speeds of 1 Gbps or higher -- and the only portion of the spectrum band where wide swaths are available is at high frequencies. But according to popular thinking, radio transmissions cannot travel far at high frequencies known as the millimeter wave band, potentially requiring cellsites to be placed much closer together than they are in traditional cellular networks. But according to the researchers, the range of 5G millimeter wave cellsites could be as high as several hundred meters. That would be good news for wireless network operators, who might not have to deploy as many 5G cellsites as initially expected. The possibility of 5G wireless in the millimeter wave band already has caught the attention of the Federal Communications Commission, which recently adopted a notice of inquiry to learn more about the technology and issues that would be involved.