AT&T's AirGig to deliver low-cost, multi-gigabit net speeds around power lines

AT&T yesterday revealed Project AirGig which aimed to deliver "low-cost, multi-gigabit wireless internet speeds" using power lines.

AT&T hopes to conduct first field trials of the technology sometime next year.

Unlike the broadband through power lines efforts for tech giants like Google and IBM, dating back to a decade ago, AT&T's project aims to deliver high-speed internet around power lines, not through them.

With the technology, AT&T, could deliver service in rural areas outside its geographic territory and even overseas, enabling users to get access to the super-fast internet necessary for streaming 4K video on Netflix or chatting via FaceTime.

Project AirGig will deploy plastic antennas that delivered data signals and stick them on already existing power lines, creating an electromagnetic field to guide the signals across the wires.

The project will leverage the prevalence of power lines in the US, with 200,000 miles of high-voltage lines and nearly 5.5 million miles of local distribution lines.

"It's easier to deploy than fibre, and can deliver ultra-fast wireless connectivity," John Donovan, AT&T's chief strategy officer, said during a conference call yesterday.

Broadband over power line connections in the past had limited speeds due to its delivery method, and technical difficulties like interference with emergency radios, which made the service more troublesome than it was worth.

Meanwhile, AT&T is reportedly scouting for a suitable location at some place in the next year with a favourable regulatory environment, since it would need to rope-in an existing electric utility.

AT&T said in a statement that the technology relied on over 100 patents. No direct electrical connection to the power lines was needed, although network components would derive their needed power through inductive physical principals just due to their proximity to the lines, AT&T chief technology officer Andre Fuetsch explained.