Learning about beamforming technology
Taking your wireless internet experience to the next level at www.clearwirelessinternetservice.com is a big step, but the potential for improving your service doesn’t stop there. You can use beamforming technology to dramatically increase your throughput performance. Throughput refers to the average rate of success for messages delivered over a channel, and is closely related to digital bandwidth consumption.But just what is beamforming technology? It’s a method for processing a signal that allows you to control the direction of the transmission and reception of radio signals (beamforming can also be used to transmit and receive sound waves). A specifically-targeted signal results in a significant advantage over the more common omnidirectional reception/transmission.Marvell’s beamforming technology is said to extend WiFi signal coverage by two to four times, with a throughput increase “of 2x to 20x depending on the environment,” according to a January 3, 2011 press release. In your home, this could mean that signal reception through the walls between your device and your router could be significantly improved.Quantenna, a company formed “in 2006 by leading experts in the semiconductor, wireless and networking industries,” also offers beamforming technology as an added companion to their 4×4 Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology. MIMO is an important part of the IEEE 802.11n wireless networking standard, and uses multiple antennas to process more information than would be possible with a single antenna.Dynamic digital beamforming is considered one of the most effective uses of the technology. This method uses a digital signal processing (DSP) algorithm to allow for complete control over Wi-Fi signals. The end result is a number of independent signal paths which direct radio energy in the most efficient fashion. When this is combined with a 2-stream configuration, the radio signal can be sent in both directions while avoiding interference.One of the benefits of dynamic digital beamforming combined with MIMO is its adaptive nature. The set-up adjusts the WiFi signal based on “the spatial characteristics of the MIMO channel frequency response, and the number of data streams and receiver positions. As a result, it can improve high-speed performance and consistency over longer distances,” as Quantenna says on its “Beamforming” information page.