Wireless is currently grappling with an industry-wide issue: a shortage of wireless data spectrum. As you know, spectrum carries wireless data signals between carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon and their customers or users.
When iPhone and Android hit the market, the demand for data exploded. In fact, it has grown from a few hundred apps in the BlackBerry era to millions today. And the demand continues to grow.
The problem is that there is a limited amount of wireless data spectrum available. The challenge is how to meet the ever-increasing demand. This is a question and challenge that affects all wireless players, networks, smartphone manufacturers, and in fact every sector of the industry.
For nearly two decades, new methods have emerged that increase the amount of data that can be carried over the existing spectrum. This has helped, but it creates more problems when the spectrum is used for a variety of purposes, including watching TV, movies, videos, listening to music, and conference calls.
So what’s the next answer to this ever-growing problem? Transpositional Modulation (TM), currently under development, may be the solution to spectrum scarcity. TM technology helps networks better manage the spectrum they own and use. It mixes multiple data streams into a single stream.
According to the IEEE Communications Society, TM allows two or more data signals to be transmitted simultaneously over a single carrier wave, and unlike other modulation schemes, it achieves this without compromising the integrity of the individual streams.
This seems like a really potential solution to the spectrum problem we’re currently dealing with.
Is TM technology a solution to the wireless data spectrum shortage?
Another player in this field is a company called TM Technologies, which is working with the US military on developing this technology.
That being said, if TM helps the military, it could also help the commercial wireless market, which is another big growth opportunity for the technology and players in this space.
This means it will be useful for wireless networks like AT&T, T-Mobile, and others.
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and Verizon
VZ
In fact, it could also help resellers like Xfinity Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Optimum, Cox, etc. It could also play a role in the emerging private wireless sector of the wireless industry.
Wireless continues to grow, with new areas emerging all the time, which is a good thing, but limited spectrum will always have an impact.
AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Qualcomm, Ericsson, Nokia, Celona, etc.
This could also be useful for other companies in the wireless industry, such as Qualcomm.
QCOM
Ericsson
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Nokia
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Celona, Cisco {symbol link=CSCO]Intel
International Trade Commission
HPE
Hewlett-Packard
Huawei, ZTE, etc.
Remember, problems aren’t permanent. They occur from time to time until a solution is found, as is the case with the wireless data spectrum crunch the industry is grappling with.
Limited wireless data spectrum is not a problem that is going away. That said, we have developed solutions over time. Yesterday, we developed solutions that worked. Today, TM may be the next step.
Going forward, we won’t be able to get more spectrum, so we’ll develop new ideas to pack more data into the radio spectrum.
This is an ongoing problem that the wireless industry has been dealing with for nearly the last 20 years, and we will continue to struggle with this problem unless we develop new ways to transmit wireless data in different ways, and continue to develop new solutions such as Transposition Modulation (TM).
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