Japan’s NTT has achieved wireless transmission speeds of a blazing 100Gbps using a new technique called orbital angular momentum (OAM) multiplexing.
The laboratory trial used an NTT-developed system that mounts data signals on the electromagnetic waves generated by OAM multiplexing in combination multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology.
The results indicate that applying the principle to large-scale wireless transmission can achieve data rates of around 100 times that of LTE and Wi-Fi and around five times the expected capability of 5G at launch.
OAM multiplexing is a principal based on the fact that electromagnetic waves have orbital angular momentum. This allows them to be superimposed and separated based on the differences in this momentum. OAM multiplexing in the millimeter wave band has been drawing attention in recent years.
The trial demonstrated that data signals could be carried by multiple OAM-multiplexed electromagnetic waves. NTT also developed signal processing technology capable of processing 11 data signals simultaneously each at a bit rate of 7.2Gbps to 10.8Gbps.
NTT has announced a goal of achieving terabit-class wireless transmission in the 2030s to meet projected demand for high-speed wireless communications.
The company plans to present the results of the lab trial at Wireless Technology Park 2018 in Tokyo next week, and at the IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference-Spring in Portugal next month.