Parallel radio and laser signal may be alternative to fiber for data transmission

MIT Technology Review : A series of boxes spaced 10 km apart, each of which pairs an IR laser with a directional millimeter-wave radio transmitter, may soon provide wireless internet access. Developed by a company called AOptix, the paired signals each transmit the same data at 2 GB/s, which provides redundancy in case conditions prevent one signal from reaching the next box. Chandra Pusarla, the company’s senior vice president of products and technology, says the redundancy guarantees the system will experience only five minutes or less of downtime per year. It is currently undergoing tests by three US wireless carriers and is already being used in Mexico and Nigeria. The technology is useful both in urban environments, where upgrading copper wiring to fiber optics can be costly, and in rural environments, which lack any fiber-optic infrastructure.