Australian research body CSIRO aims to turn old analog TV antennas into wireless data receivers, offering up to 12Mbps download speeds.
The government organization, one of the pioneers in Wi-Fi, today unveiled its Ngara wireless technology, which using beam-forming transmission techniques.
Any rural property capable of receiving an analog television signal today would be able to use the technology through a new set-top box.
CSIRO said Ngara would enable multiple users to transmit simultaneously without compromising individual transfer rates of 12Mbps.
The technology could be used to provide connectivity to the 7% of Australia's population that are too remote to reach via fiber during the NBN rollout. NBN Co plans to use both wireless and satellite technologies to connect these places.
Ngara achieves spectral efficiency more than ten times the industry's minimum standard, CSIRO ICT center director Ian Oppermann said. Six users can be served with 12Mbps connections in the space of one 7MHz television channel, representing an efficiency of 20 bps per Hz.