Report: Major Wireless Technology Breakthrough

From Tom Wolverton, mercurynews.com

Dropped calls, unsent texts, painfully slow Internet connections and overcrowded Wi-Fi hot spots have become a bane of modern life.

But veteran [Silicon] valley entrepreneur Steve Perlman may have a solution to those problems. Perlman and a team of engineers and scientists at Rearden, his business incubator in San Francisco, have come up with an innovative technique for transmitting and receiving radio signals that he says will result in fewer dropped calls and much faster wireless Internet connections.

The technology, some 10 years in the making and the subject of dozens of patents that Perlman says he has either applied for or received, is a breakthrough on par with the invention of the laser, said Richard Doherty, research director of the Envisioneering Group, a market research firm that focuses on wireless technologies.

"This is a whole new science of radio," said Doherty, who has been briefed on the technology. "It's a game changer. It's as clear as that. I don't know if I'll run into another one in my lifetime like this."

Perlman, 50, has a history of creating disruptive technologies. He helped develop the QuickTime video player while serving as chief scientist of Apple; cofounded WebTV, an early effort to marry the television and the Web; and, more recently, cofounded OnLive, an online gaming service that allows users to play console-quality video games without an expensive game machine.

But some critics are skeptical about his latest technology. Perlman has released few of the technical details, so it's hard to say how well the technology will work, said Philip Solis, a research director who focuses on mobile networks for ABI Research, a technology consultancy.

"It's something that's more theoretical than practical at this point," Solis said.

Perlman disputes that notion, saying that the technology -- dubbed DIDO for "distributed-input-distributed output" -- has been proven in the lab and could be ready for commercial use as early as late next year. He says he's already talking with potential partners and investors ranging from wireless carriers and equipment makers to venture capital firms and even national governments.

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