Marguerite Reardon
Samsung is set to announce on Wednesday that it will be the first laptop maker to incorporate new technology that greatly expands the range of Wi-Fi access and speeds up performance.
Samsung is embedding chips from start-up company Airgo Networks that use a technology called multiple-input multiple-output, or MIMO, to increase bandwidth, speed and range of wireless networks. This technology could theoretically boost data rates to 100Mbps, although Airgo executives say it will more likely transmit at about 45Mbps. It will expand the signal range to about 200 to 300 meters.
Today, wireless networks based on the standard 802.11g have a range of about 50 to 100 meters and an optimal transfer rate of 54Mbps, although the average rate is about half that.
Limited range and slower-than-expected speed are common complaints for users of wireless networks.
Linksys and Belkin are already selling wireless routers and network interface cards that use the Airgo MIMO technology. Samsung will be the first laptop maker to incorporate the technology directly into its products.
"When technology like this starts getting embedded into devices, then you know it's hitting the mainstream," said Dave Borison, director of product marketing for Airgo. "It's a testament to the fact that people are fed up with an older generation of products that are not as reliable and don't provide the speed and bandwidth they can get with this technology."
MIMO is based on 802.11g and 802.11b standards, but it works by allowing two or more distinct signals to be transmitted over the same 802.11 radio channel at the same time with no interference. This allows more data to be sent over the available radio spectrum than typically has been possible with standard transmissions.
Today, most laptops equipped for wireless connectivity use chips from Intel's Centrino family. These chips use single radios to transmit and receive radio signals. The Airgo chips used by Samsung will have two radios.
The dual-radio technology not only allows more data to be sent, it makes the connections more reliable. Single radios become confused by 'echo' radio signals that bounce off of walls, so they drop connections or slow down. But a MIMO-enabled radio listens to the echoes and directs traffic to a single, stronger path.
And because multiple radios are used to send and receive signals, Wi-Fi traffic can be transmitted around walls and other obstacles, which had been problematic for older generations of Wi-Fi gear.
The MIMO technology will be available on some Samsung laptops from Wednesday. Airgo said it is discussing similar agreements for its chips with other laptop manufacturers.
MIMO will likely be part of the next-generation wireless standard called 802.11n , which is still being worked on by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers.
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