Wi-Fi, meet the TV antenna

The first half of CSIRO's Ngara rural wireless broadband technology allows several users to upload material at the same time without compromising the data rate of 12 megabits per second each.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization tomorrow plans to unveil a breakthrough in wireless technology that will allow multiple users to upload content at the same time while maintaining a data transfer rate of 12 megabits per second (Mbps), all over their old analog TV aerial.

The technology, named Ngara, allows up to six users to occupy the equivalent spectrum space of one television channel (7 megahertz) and has a spectral efficiency of 20 bits per second per hertz. Ngara can handle up to three times that of similar technology and maintains a data rate more than 10 times the industry minimum standard, CSIRO ICT center director Ian Opperman revealed.

"Someone who doesn't live near the fiber network [the Australian government's planned National Broadband Network] could get to it using our new wireless system," Oppermann said in a statement. "They'd be able to upload a clip to YouTube in real time and their data rate wouldn't change even if five of their neighbors also started uploading videos."

Read more of "CSIRO introduces Wi-Fi to your TV antenna" at ZDNet Australia.