Drawbacks to Wireless (Score 3)

One of the unfortunate drawbacks to high-speed wireless data transmission, especially in the 10mbps range, is the tradeoff of frequency vs. transmission range. (I'm pulling this all from memory of a conference I attended on wireless data transmission, please correct me if I'm wrong). The problem is that high bandwidth wireless pipes (microwave) require very high transmission frequencies, typically in the 2.x GHz range IIRC. Waveforms with high frequencies have short wavelength, and therefore do not travel far, or through objects (in the same way that you can hear the bass from your neighbor's stereo, but not the treble).

Unless this technology has advanced substantially in recent years, most microwave transmitters require line-of-sight, and rarely transmit more than a few miles. An ISP I used to work for purchased a set of microwave transmitters to allow them to expand their business into a neighboring state without paying taxes and tarrifs on a leased line crossing state borders. The band these microwave transmitters use isn't retulated by the FCC, so transmission at those frequencies is open game. We had to set up the transmitters on opposite sides of the border (a few miles apart), and align them for line of sight. Even at a short range, we still only got E1 speeds (which I understand to be ~2mpbs).

alt3r3go