Gas pipe Broadband?

 

 Imagine accessing the Internet over the same pipe that provides you with natural gas for cooking.

 It may sound nuts today, but a San Diego company called Nethercomm is developing a way to use ultra wideband wireless signals to transmit data at broadband speeds through natural-gas pipes. The company claims its technology will be able to offer 100 megabits per second to every home, which is more than enough to provide voice, video and high-speed Internet access.

 Needless to say, there's a big caveat here: These claims have yet to be tested.

Nethercomm has no working products and has not tried the technology in the field.

"When I first heard about it, it seemed pretty outrageous," said Joe Posewick, president of EN Engineering, an engineering firm that helps natural gas companies build distribution facilities. "But the more we talked to Nethercomm and other experts in the industry, the more we realized that it could be a viable technology that could revolutionize the natural-gas industry.

 "Of course, we have to see if it really works," Posewick added. "There's been no proof of concept yet."

 So how does broadband in gas pipes work? Click here for the rest of the story.

Provided by Marguerite Reardon
Staff Writer, CNET News.com