Wake Up, Guinness Book! The WiFi Range Record Has Been Broken

Wireless networks represent the future of communications, and this is the reason why researchers and engineers across the world are trying to push the limits of said networks to the max, in order to be able to reach city-wide and even larger ranges. And the latest record in this area belongs to the Venezuelan researcher Ermanno Pietrosemoli, who managed to establish back in April a 279 kilometer link in M?rida, Venezuela.

According to APCNews, the researcher, a member of the EsLaRed foundation, got involved in this project in order to demonstrate that it's really possible to establish Wi-Fi networks over such huge distances. Moreover, the project also has a humanitarian side, as it is meant to draw the attention to the needs of isolated communities, since - according to the researcher - the direct beneficiaries are the inhabitants of isolated rural areas, who require the establishment of networks between organizations catering to basic needs: schools, hospitals and community centers.

"Initially it was a project of the Communications Laboratory at the University of the Andes. After my retirement, I was hired as a consultant by an organisation called Fundacite Merida. There, I advanced the state of Merida's Distance Computing Network, which is still currently in operation, although I no longer work directly with Fundacite", Pietrosemoli said for APCNews, regarding his pet project.

However, this achievement has not been properly demonstrated, and this is the reason why a project is also being prepared to repeat the experience with external observers. Moreover, the researcher and his colleagues are trying to tackle the numerous problems posed by such extended networks, as for example interferences. "We intend to extend these results to other less populated bandwith frequencies in order to provide service", noted Pietrosemoli.

This record brought about national and international recognition for Pietrosemoli, but - according to his statements - that's not what he wants. The whole purpose of his work is that of bringing his contribution to the development of wide-range Wi-Fi networks, which might one day change the way we perceive communications.

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