Comments on: Broadband through Gas, Seriously

By: Si2Au

Si2Au — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 05:01:17 +0000

WOW!

I’ve read all of the comments posted here and I think you guys had better take a better look at this. These guys as of 1/2006 have a working system installed in San Diego, funding from Motorola and are broadcasting TimeWarner, DirectTV and Cox television services simultaneously through a single Sempra gas pipeline. I don’t know where they are going next with this thing but I believe that this technology could actually pose a real threat to cable television.

By: Peter

Peter — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 16:25:44 +0000

I question the quality of gas pipes as waveguides, but except for plastic they’d at least keep the signal isolated. As for installation, there’s a method for adding a tap to a gas line without shutting it down which could probably be adapted for making a feed.

By: Dude, WTF?

Dude, WTF? — Sat, 14 May 2005 03:34:13 +0000

Pull my finger

Some of you have undoubtedly heard of Broadband over Powerline (BPL) but an even more incredible (uncredible?) scheme is BIG... Broadband in Gasline is the latest scheme cooked up to deliver the information superhighway to people's houses. Supposedly...

By: Permanent4

Permanent4 — Fri, 13 May 2005 14:40:00 +0000

Om, please don’t tell me you’re taking that site seriously. That whole thing has to be a gag. Even the people on the “About Us” page look like they’ve been photoshopped off a royalty-free JPEG CD-ROM.

By: Gizmodo

Gizmodo — Fri, 13 May 2005 12:09:45 +0000

Broadband via Natural Gas

Om is talking about the unlikely technology being proposed by the free thinkers at the Nethercomm Corp., who hope to use technology similar to UWB to transmit high-speed network traffic over natural gas lines. Problem is (as one of Om's...

By: Abundando

Abundando — Fri, 13 May 2005 09:39:48 +0000

A todo gas... natural

Nethercomm, una empresa californiana, asegura ser capaz de proveer servicios de banda ancha inalámbrica a través de las conducciones de gas. La información se transmite mediante frecuencias de radio ultra wideband, empleando el gas de las tuberías ...

By: Lockergnome's Mobile Lifestyle

Lockergnome's Mobile Lifestyle — Fri, 13 May 2005 06:11:01 +0000

Broadband through Gas, Seriously

Wi-Fi through gas! Surely I jest? Nope there really is such a crazy venture! And to be honest, it might not be as insane as it sounds....

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Fri, 13 May 2005 03:25:47 +0000

Jesse,

thanks for reminding me of cell on a blimp. i was read the biography of craig mccaw and it came up in that. i thought it was a bit of a joke, but not really. people do come up with doozies

By: Jesse Kopelman

Jesse Kopelman — Fri, 13 May 2005 02:34:39 +0000

I think the idea is that the pipe would act as a wave guide, so range would be better than you might think. That said, this is the sort of idea that will not come to fruition any time soon despite (maybe) being technically feasible. File it with that old favorite of mine, Cell on Blimp. Oh the fun we had, before the zoning hearings for a new tower, chanting cell on blimp, cell on blimp, back in the day. You had to be there . . .

By: larry borsato

larry borsato — Fri, 13 May 2005 02:26:23 +0000

Big pipes.

Imagine a high speed internet connection, 10 gigabits per second broadband - through your natural gas pipelines. Yes I'm serious. Om Malik has more....

By: Sean ONeil

Sean ONeil — Fri, 13 May 2005 01:51:10 +0000

Having worked at a natural gas companyat one point in my life, it was my understanding the alot of the gas lines from the curb to the customer premisis are PVC, I’m guessing its a little tough to send UWB through PVC ;-)