Last September, AT&T promised the first field trials in 2017 for its Project AirGig, which aims to offer ultra-fast wireless internet using power lines. The company reports it can run over license-free spectrum and deliver wireless connectivity to any home or handheld wireless device. AT&T also suggested that cautiously, commercial availability might happen around 2020. On Tuesday, AT&T reported it is in advanced discussions with power companies for tests in at least two locations by this fall. One location will be in the United States with others to be determined in the coming months, AT&T says in a statement.
Previously, AT&T reported experimentation with broadband-over-power lines (BPL) technology at its outdoor facility, and findings there resulted in developments like the Radio Distributed Antenna System (RDAS). The shift from BPL to millimeter wave (mmWave) technology led AT&T engineers to think about combining mmWave and powerlines. The company says some of the first experiments involved transmitting data signals using funnels from a local auto parts store covered with aluminum foil, placed next to unenergized power cables. “These tests produced unexpected positive results, creating the foundation of Project AirGig’s development – transporting mmWaves over power lines,” AT&T says.
Currently, AT&T reports it has more than 200 patents and patent applications for Project AirGig. They include low-cost plastic antennas, an RDAS, mmWave surface wave launchers, and inductive power devices. “The RDAS will reconstruct signals for multi-gigabit mobile and fixed deployments,” AT&T says. “A typical DAS carries cellular signals throughout buildings and stadiums, using fiber and/or coaxial cables to transmit analog signals.”
“AT&T is focused on delivering a gigabit-per-second speed everywhere we can with our wired and wireless technologies. Project AirGig represents a key invention in our 5G Evolution approach,” AT&T Labs President and CTO Andre Fuetsch says. “AT&T Labs is ‘writing the textbook’ for a new technology approach that has the potential to deliver benefits to utility companies and bring this multi-gigabit, low-cost internet connectivity anywhere there are power lines – big urban market, small rural town, globally.”
A further review from AT&T about the project is available here.
