California Startup Develops Cheap Wireless Broadband Technology
Yesterday, The New York Times reported that Etherlinx of Campbell, CA has developed a wireless broadband router that could cost as little as $150 in quantity. They envision this as a way to provide high speed Internet access to the home, rendering DSL and cable modems obsolete.
Their secret weapon is a technology known as a "software-designed radio," which has permitted them to create an inexpensive repeater antenna that can be attached to the outside of a customer's home. The device, which the Etherlinx executives said they believe can be built in quantity for less than $150 each, would communicate with a central antenna and then convert the signals into the industry-standard Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, signal for reception inside the home.