Patwari plans more research on whether different or multiple radio frequencies might detect breathing better than the one 2.4 gigahertz frequency used in the study.

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Google has long been involved in public trials to prove the technology which operates at lower frequencies than some cell networks, allowing signals to be more easily transmitted through buildings and other obstacles and across longer distances can work.

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But with more than 300 million GPS receivers out there designed to listen to not only GPS frequencies but neighboring bands, there are facts on the ground that will likely prevent LightSquared from making full use of its FCC-licensed spectrum.

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The FCC has been more than a little eager to repurpose spectrum as wireless internet access takes off: white spaces and iDEN frequencies have already switched roles, and that's not including the myriad of spectrum swaps.

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America squeezes in many more stations than Britain because it is a much bigger country: its cities are further apart, so the same frequencies can be used again and again in different places, without interference.

ECONOMIST: Commercial radio

Marty Bentrott, vice president of sales, marketing and in-service support for the 787, says that since 1990, the number of city pairs more than 3, 000 nautical miles apart served by the world's airlines have doubled, the number of frequencies offered by the airlines have doubled, and the number of available seat-kilometers (seating capacity times miles flown) have doubled.

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