New beamforming technology promises 10-fold data-rate boost

Irish-based start-up Socowave is claiming its new active panel antenna (APA) technology can boost handset data rates by a factor of 10 and cut base station power consumption by up to 50 percent. The company, which was only formed last year, claims these dramatic improvements can be achieved by directing beam energy preferentially toward the populated areas, instead of in simple omnidirectional circular patterns. Article [1]