Communications of the ACM
Large-Scale Pilot to Get a Read on Super Wi-Fi
Some U.S. libraries will implement Super Wi-Fi in the coming months, as part of large-scale Super Wi-Fi pilot by the Gigabit Libraries Network.
Credit: Kurzweil.net
The Gigabit Libraries Network (GLN) will conduct a large-scale pilot of Super Wi-Fi at U.S. public libraries in the months ahead. The participating library systems will implement Super Wi-Fi access points on e-bookmobiles and other publicly accessible locations.
Super Wi-Fi potentially could be used to bring free wireless service to underserved, mostly rural areas. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission opened up TV white space, the unlicensed, low-frequency bands in the radio frequency spectrum that Super Wi-Fi uses, in 2010 after TV broadcasters switched from analog to all-digital signals. Although the lower frequency limits throughput, Super Wi-Fi expands the range to enable signals to go for several miles and pass through walls and buildings. In comparison, many libraries across the country have Wi-Fi access, but their short-range signals require people to be on the premises.
Super Wi-Fi is not technically Wi-Fi because it does not conform to the set of IEEE 802.11 standards designated by the Wi-Fi Alliance as Wi-Fi, but it functions on the same interoperable principles. The pilot is very important for assessing its ability to help bridge the digital divide, says GLN coordinator Don Means.
From Government Computer News
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