If you’ve ever tried to get work done at a coffee shop during rush hour, you know that even something as simple as a Google Search can be soul-crushingly slow. Thanks to a new Wi-Fi technology from Qualcomm, though, all that may be about to change.
The reason public Wi-Fi hubs have such a terrible traffic for internet speed is that, as it works now, networks are technically only able to take care of one device at a time. So the more users cramming onto the network, the more devices the wireless signal has to jump between and the slower it is for everyone involved.
Now, after seven years of research, Qualcomm is announcing a new technology that lets routers service multiple users simultaneously called “multi user, multiple input, multiple output” — or MU-MIMO. This new method of Wi-Fi delvery uses an algorithm that allows networks to adapt to more users as they come, potentially tripling current Wi-Fi speeds at busy hotspots.
Of course, any MU-MIMO capable servers will need the device on the other end to be compatible as well. While Snapdragon 805 and 801 mobile processors are already supported, Qualcomm will start selling MU-MIMO-enabled chips to other router, smartphone, tablet, and smart TV manufacturers later this year. [Qualcomm via CNN Money]