A world record test in the California desert shows the staggering range of HaLow Wi-Fi System.
How far can your home Wi-Fi reach? In rural areas, I can get a signal up to around 30 feet outside my small house. But in densely packed urban apartments, it often drops after just a couple of rooms, driving the need for mesh networks. However, one company has managed to extend Wi-Fi coverage to nearly 10 miles. Here’s the catch.
Morse Micro’s impressive setup uses the 802.11ah standard, known as HaLow, which operates on low-frequency radio bands to achieve this extended range. While this is technically compatible with some existing hardware, Morse Micro’s system includes a lot of proprietary technology to push it even further.
Morse Micro’s access point system has already been tested in a typical environment, achieving a stable video connection over 1.8 miles (2.9 kilometers) in San Francisco, according to Tom’s Hardware—which is undeniably impressive. However, densely populated cities with constant Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and mobile signals won’t reveal the full potential of the hardware. To do that, Morse Micro’s engineers headed to Joshua Tree National Park in California’s desert.
They placed an access point at the north end of the valley and started driving, stopping just before the system’s theoretical maximum range based on their technical data. With no buildings or major electronics around and a clear line-of-sight, it was an ideal setup.
The HaLow connection reached a range of 9.9 miles (15.9 kilometers), which is already impressive. Even better, it maintained a stable speed of two megabits per second. While that’s not enough for a 4K video stream, it’s plenty for checking emails or making a VOIP call.
This setup now holds the world record for the longest stable Wi-Fi connection. And while it might seem unnecessary in a world with widespread LTE, it’s a game-changer for those trying to share an expensive rural internet connection over long distances. Morse Micro envisions it being useful for peer-to-peer connections almost anywhere, or for long-range setups on farms, mines, or resorts—basically, any place with large areas lacking reliable internet.
Courtesy of PC World.
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