News

World WiFi distance record -310 km - acknowledged by Guinness

WiFi equipment maker Alvarion and the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) have persuaded Guinness World Records to recognise last year's distance record for a WiFi link - from the ground to a stratospheric balloon.

The balloon was launched from Esrange near the town of Kiruna in northern Sweden and the link went between the balloon, and a base station located near Esrange.

Onboard the balloon was a BreezeNET DS.11 outdoor bridge unit, supplied by Alvarion, where publicity staff described the corporation as "the world's most successful provider of broadband wireless products."

David Hawksett, head of science and technology from Guinness World Records, said: "This cutting-edge achievement illustrates just how far broadband technology has advanced. Given the expertise of both companies, I'm sure it won't be long before we have to rewrite this particular record."

Impressive though the achievement is, it has no bearing on how WiFi networks are allowed to work on Planet Earth. Down here, you're restricted to much lower power outputs and much smaller antenna gain.

On the balloon, the BreezeNET DS.11 unit was connected to a high-power amplifier with 6 watts power output, a camera and a server.

Data, such as environmental conditions and weather patterns, was collected and the information was sent back to Esrange via the Alvarion BreezeNET DS.11 unit, connected to a 2.4 meters dish antenna. The antenna with 6 watt power output was controlled by automatic tracking system using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology.

The weather balloon reached a maximum height of 29.7 km and drifted steadily. It finally touched down east of Sodankyla in the northern part of Finland, having travelled approximately 315 Km.

Interviewed by Alvarion's publicity managers, Lars-Olov Jonsson, System engineer RF and microwave, at SSC Esrange commented: "This is an amazing technical achievement, the difficulty of which should not be underestimated. Alvarion has developed extremely robust equipment capable of operating in a very harsh environment. Its technology has helped us save money, time and energy."

Rudy Leser, VP Marketing of Alvarion, added: "Wi-Fi seems to be a very fashionable subject with the media at the moment. Fact is, we've been doing it for years and here is the result - the ability to send data over a wireless connection 315km long. We are consistently invested heavily into research and development and the broadband wireless industry as a whole has benefited from our innovations."

That's the sort of thing Alvarion's publicity department can say, of course; and it may impress the science chief of Guinness. But few engineers will be astonished to hear that with a highly focused, high-power beam at 2.4 GHz, no interference from trees or buildings, and clear line of sight, coherent data can be transmitted to a distance of 200 miles.

On the ground, experimenters have managed far more challenging distance records - not 200 miles, perhaps, but not far short, and with far more difficulties to overcome.

The Swedish Space Corporation is a state-owned, commercial company with about 300 employees at its locations in Solna (near Stockholm) and Kiruna.

SSC operates the Esrange facility outside Kiruna for rocket and balloon launches for scientists from the whole world. SSC also operates one of the world's busiest satellite ground stations at Esrange, supporting a growing number of satellites. In Solna, SSC develops state-of-the-art satellites, space vehicle subsystems, payloads for rockets as well as airborne systems for maritime surveillance. These products are sold on the international market. Swedish Space Corporation owns fifty percent of Nordic Satellite AB, which distributes television and offers other telecommunication services on its geostationary Sirius satellites.

Comments? Mail me at guy@kewney.com or phone 020 8809 0492 in the UK (+44) area.