OnLive CEO Steve Perlman has unveiled new wireless technology capable of sub-millisecond latency and ranges which reach beyond the curvature of the Earth. The potential ramifications of such technology are huge, not least for cloud gaming.
Rearden Companies' (OnLive's parent) system, which uses simple single-antenna radios, has been tested over a 30-mile distance - further than television stations are currently capable of - but is theoretically capable of broadcasting across 250 miles. The only reason this hasn't yet been tested, Perlman reveals, is because it would take too long to drive between testing stations. At 30 miles, the latency is just 2ms.
Skip to 55:14 to see Perlman's explanation of Rearden Companies' new technology
Existing wireless standards are limited by the 'Shannon-Hartley theorem' (not to be confused with 'Shannon's law' which states that it is illegal to discharge firearms into the air in Arizona) which dictates the maximum amount of error-free data that can be transmitted within a specified bandwidth.
Previously thought to be a fundamental limitation, the law is the reason that signal quality degrades in crowded locations, Perlman offering the example of a stadium. Simply put, the more noise caused by competing signals, the more errors introduced.
Perlman claims that Rearden Companies has ten radios working at the same frequency, all at the Shannon-Hartley limit, without any interference, thereby achiveing ten times the previously accepted ceiling. The team is confident, however, that 100x is easily achievable, and optimistic that 1000 times could be possible.
The breakthrough could mean an end to dead zones, signal drops and congestion, and provide wireless signals which are faster than wired connections.
In the latest issue of Edge, out now, we report on cloud gaming service OnLive's imminent launch beyond US shores this autumn and speak to VP of engineering Joe Bentley.