Expanding wireless bandwidth in a power-efficient way: developing a viable mm-wave radio technology

In recent years, demand for wireless bandwidth has been growing rapidly; a recent study has predicted that by 2015, demand will increase to twenty-six times that of today. However, the ability of wireless networks to handle even contemporary traffic is becoming problematic, with network overloading becoming a growing and widening problem; if data traffic increases by even a fraction of projections, wireless networks (as presently constructed) will be completely unable to cope with demand. This paper examines the current state of mm-wave radio technology for addressing this bandwidth/power-consumption crisis. The main promise of mm-wave radio is a route to power-efficient bandwidth - the ability to greatly increase the available data rates without increasing power consumption. To deliver successful mm-wave radio technology for general use, a number of multifaceted challenges will need to be addressed; these range from basic integrated circuit design to network design and network management.