15-Dec-2017: AP signs MoU with Google
X, a division owned by Google’s parent company Alphabet and one that deals in experimental technologies, has signed a MoU with Andhra Pradesh government to setup developmental centre in Visakhapatnam and to create a high speed internet network that doesn’t require special cabling.
No cables will be used. Instead of cables, the X internet network will use “Free Space Optical Communications, aka FSOC, technology”. This network will power internet in 13 districts through 2 thousand FSOC links. The X centre in Visakhapatnam will be its first development centre outside the US.
FSFC is an optical communication technology that uses light to wirelessly transmit data to telecommunication and internet applications. The technology remained outside the commercial applications for long owing to distance, speed, and efficiency related problems.
FSOC links use beams of light to deliver high-speed, high-capacity connectivity over long distances, just like fiber optic cable, but without the cable. And because there’s no cable, this means there’s none of the time, cost, and hassle involved in digging trenches or stringing cable along poles. FSOC boxes can simply be placed kilometres apart on roofs or towers, with the signal beamed directly between the boxes to easily traverse common obstacles like rivers, roads and railways.
Less than 20% of people in Andhra Pradesh currently have access to broadband connectivity. The state government has committed to connecting 12 million households and thousands of government organizations and businesses by 2019 – an initiative called AP Fiber Grid.
10-Aug-2017: China uses a quantum satellite to transmit potentially un-hackable data
China has demonstrated a world first by sending data over long distances using satellites which is potentially unhackable, laying the basis for next generation encryption based on so-called quantum cryptography. Last year, China launched a quantum satellite into space. Using this satellite, Chinese researchers at the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) project, were now able to transmit secret messages from space to Earth at a further distance than ever before.
The technology is called quantum key distribution (QKD). Typical encryption relies on traditional mathematics and while for now it is more or less adequate and safe from hacking, the development of quantum computing threatens that. Quantum computing refers to a new era of faster and more powerful computers, and the theory goes that they would be able to break current levels of encryption. QKD works by using photons — the particles which transmit light — to transfer data.
QKD allows two distant users, who do not share a long secret key initially, to produce a common, random string of secret bits, called a secret key. Using the one-time pad encryption this key is proven to be secure to encrypt and decrypt a message, which can then be transmitted over a standard communication channel.
The encryption is “unbreakable” and that’s mainly because of the way data is carried via the photon. A photon cannot be perfectly copied and any attempt to measure it will disturb it. This means that a person trying to intercept the data will leave a trace. Any eavesdropper on the quantum channel attempting to gain information of the key will inevitably introduce disturbance to the system, and can be detected by the communicating users. The implications could be huge for cybersecurity, making businesses safer, but also making it more difficult for governments to hack into communication.
18-Mar-2017: 'Li-Fi' LED light bulbs to transmit wireless data at gigabit-level speeds
Researchers have devised a new method that relies on central 'light antennas' to beam rays of different wavelengths to wireless devices - meaning networks won't get jammed by several competing devices.
A light-based system 'Li-Fi,' could make wireless networks much more secure. It can transmit at the speed of 40 Gbit/s per ray. It would rely on direct rays of light from an optical fiber, and as it has no moving parts, it would be a maintenance free system that requires no power.
The direction of the ray of light can also be changed by adjusting the wavelength. The light-based network can track the precise location of each wireless device based on its radio signal. To add more devices, different wavelength can be assigned from the same antenna.
While current Wi-Fi systems rely on radio signals with a frequency of 2.5 or 5 gigahertz, the new network would use infrared light with wavelengths of 1500 nanometers or more. According to the researchers, this light can achieve much higher frequencies - up to 200 terahertz - for much greater capacity.
The system also uses visible light communication between 400 and 800 terahertz to transmit messages in binary code. Visible light cannot pass through walls, making Li-Fi a much more secure system, and less susceptible to interference.
While the system seems promising, it won't likely replace Wi-Fi entirely, at least not anytime soon. Instead, researchers are now looking to retrofit devices with Li-Fi to use the two wireless systems together to optimize speed and security.