
Amazon May Be Hiding Its Plans to Test New Wireless Tech - amynordrum
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/wireless/amazon-may-be-hiding-its-plans-to-test-new-wireless-tech-by-masquerading-as-a-massage-spa
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thewizardofaus
Amazon is testing 5G.

The 3.5Ghz band has already been proposed by telcos in Australia. Will be
implemented in the next year on certain towers.

[Reference: check ACMA tower database]

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timb07
Do you mean the 3.6 GHz band? The auction commenced a week ago:
[https://acma.gov.au/Industry/Spectrum/Spectrum-
projects/3-6-...](https://acma.gov.au/Industry/Spectrum/Spectrum-
projects/3-6-GHz-band)

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gfiorav
AFAIK the only reason WiFi sticks to 2.5/5 GHz is regulation. Same for
microwaves and other appliances. Those are the only two “free use” bands in
the spectrogram in most countries. Operating outside of them requires
expensive fees and heavy scrutiny. It will be interesting to see how they sort
that out...

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dboreham
For completeness: there is also a 900MHz band, and 24GHz and 60GHz bands.

Microwaves I assume refer to ovens, which use a frequency related to the
nature of the water molecule.

The 2.4GHz ISM band supposedly exists because commercial and military users
didn't want to deal with interference from ovens.

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TheSpiceIsLife
> Microwaves I assume refer to ovens, which use a frequency related to the
> nature of the water molecule.

They work using Dielectric Heating.

 _Water, fat, and other substances in the food absorb energy from the
microwaves in a process called dielectric heating._

See:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven#Principles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven#Principles)

Also:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric_heating)

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smurfysmurf
Can anyone speculate on how this would be used by Amazon, if they are actually
testing it?

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aftbit
Most unlicensed radio gear chooses between the 2.4GHz and 5GHz ISM bands.
2.4GHz offers longer range and better penetration of walls, but a lower
available bandwidth (fewer/slower channels). 5GHz offers better bandwidth but
lower range and less penetration. Perhaps 3.5GHz provides a happy middle
ground for Amazon? Not to mention there is much less interference on that band
because they don't have to put up with everyone's wifi, bluetooth, microwave
ovens, etc etc.

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dboreham
Generally you use whatever spectrum you can get rather than having the luxury
to strike beard and decide which spectrum you would prefer.

When available for non-military use, 3.5GHz will be attractive because it will
be empty of encumbant users. Therefore far more usable than 2.4 and 5GHz,
provided the cost is reasonable. Also likely much cheaper than the other
available P2MP bands (principally allocated to LTE in the US).

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chrisweekly
"strike beard"?

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joshstrange
Maybe "Stroke beard" as in " rather than having the luxury to stroke your
beard and decide which spectrum you would prefer.".

I'm imagining like a cartoon evil villain stroking their beard/chin.

