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Technology

Wireless speed freaks set to leave Wi-Fi standing

By Wendy Zukerman

24 February 2010

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Wi-Fi is so pedestrian. Gi-Fi anyone?

(Image: Sipa Press/Rex Features)

WI-FI as we know it is reaching the limits of its usefulness. It just can’t keep up with our appetite for services, such as new video formats, that gobble up bandwidth. So what’s next in the world of blisteringly fast home-based wireless technologies?

For clues to where Wi-Fi is going, it helps to delve into the soup of standards that will shape the future of wireless communications.

To date, most Wi-Fi hotspots use one of three connectivity standards, 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g – the current favourite. Wi-Fi devices connect to…

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