Broadband via your gas pipes?

You probably know about broadband via power lines - but how about broadband via gas pipes? The crazy-sounding concept is still just that - a concept - but a company called Nethercomm claims it will be able to deliver a Terabit wireless link over the last mile of current broadband networks by "beaming" signals down gas pipes. It calls the service "broadband in gas" or "BIG" for short.

Because the gas pipelines are isolated, there won't be any trouble with interference from other wireless sources - and the only piece of equipment required is a $200 receiver box on your gas meter. Amazingly, Nethercomm claims that its service would deliver speeds of up to 6Gbps to the home - meaning you could download huge files in the time it takes somebody to say, "can anyone else smell broadband?"

The company also reveals that trials are in the pipeline (ho ho) for three US cities: San Diego, Chicago and Atlanta. Even if these are a success, it's likely to be a few years before BIG becomes mainstream - but we'll keep an eye out for more info in the meantime.

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