Alphabet, Bharti Airtel to bridge India's digital divide using frickin laser beams
We'll note that this kind of fixed point-to-point connectivity isn't anything new. Microwave and satellite communications have long been used to extend connectivity in areas where laying cable wasn't practical. Microwave transmitters — often marketed as WISP or fixed wireless networks — are still commonly used to connect remote locations over line of sight.
The difference is that light is a much more efficient carrier of information than electromagnetic waves."Radio spectrum cannot support the world's growing data demand," states the Project Taara website, which claims its tech can pipe 30x more data through its optical interconnect than is possible when using radio spectrum. As for Taara's terminals, Alphabet says each is capable of speeds up to 20Gbps.
Of course, this tech isn't without its challenges. One of the more obvious is the potential for signal loss due to environmental factors like weather, air quality, and other obstacles, which can block or impair the signal. According to the project Taara team, many of these challenges have been mitigated by modulating the laser power and adjusting how data is processed."When Taara's beam has been affected by haze, light rain, or birds — or a curious monkey — we've not seen any service interruptions," the team claimed in an earlierHowever, the group notes that certain locales, like the notoriously foggy San Francisco Bay area, may never be ideal for this kind of technology.
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