Full and Half-Duplex

Full-duplex communication between two components means that both can transmit and receive
information between each other simultaneously. Telephones are full-duplex systems so both
parties on the phone can talk and listen at the same time.

In half-duplex systems, the transmission and reception of information must happen alternately.
While one point is transmitting, the other must only receive. Walkie-talkie radio communication
is a half-duplex system, this is characterised by saying “over” at the end of a transmission to
signify that the party is ready to receive information.

A simple illustration of a half-duplex communication system. Image credit: Wikipedia

How Duplexing Affects WiFi Routers

WiFi routers are devices that modulate and schedule the flow of information to and from any
WiFi-capable electronic device (like a laptop or smartphone) to the Internet, using a specific
standard or protocol called IEEE 802.11 which works at half-duplex. WiFi is just the trademark
brand for this specific IEEE standard (understand the common WiFi
standards).Understanding the Most Common Wi-Fi StandardsUnderstanding the Most
Common Wi-Fi StandardsWi-Fi can be a bit confusing because there are a handful of different
standards being used. Here's what you need to know.READ MORE

WiFi devices wirelessly connect to the router using radio waves at 2.4GHz or at 5GHz.
The routerschedules and makes sure the correct information flows between each connected
device and the Internet; without collision and loss; by a process call Time Division Duplexing
(TDD) to behave like full-duplexing.
TDD emulates full-duplexing by setting up or dividing time periods that alternate between
transmission and reception. Data packets flow both ways as dictated by the time divisions. By
chopping these time periods finely, devices connected this way seem to be transmitting and
receiving simultaneously.

Why Can’t Current Routers Run At Full-Duplex?

The biggest problem to achieving full-duplex capability over radio is self-interference. This
interference or noise is more intense than the actual signal itself. Simply put, interference in a
full-duplex system occurs when a single point is transmitting and receiving simultaneously, and
it will receive its own transmission too, hence self-interference is produced.

Diagram illustrating self-intereference. Credit: Kumu Network

Practical full-duplex wireless is possible in the realms of research and academia. This is largely
achieved by cancelling the self-interference on two levels. The first is by signal inversion of the
noise signal itself and then the process of noise-cancellation is further enhanced digitally. A few
Stanford University students have built working full-duplex radio prototypes in 2010 and
2011 (read the white paper). Some of these students have gone on to form a commercial startup
called KUMU Networks, committed to revolutionizing wireless networking.
Other works such as IBFD (In-Band Full-Duplex) by Cornell University
and STAR (Simultaneous Transmit and Receive) by Photonic Systems Inc. can also be found.

What About Wired LAN?

The wired portion of the LAN communicates at full-duplex with two pairs of twisted wires
forming the ethernet cable connection. Each pair is dedicated to transmit and receive information
packets simultaneously, hence no collision of data and no interference.

Here’s everything you need to know about Ethernet cables.Everything You Need To Know
About Ethernet Cables Everything You Need To Know About Ethernet CablesREAD
MORE
FTP cable3 by Baran Ivo – Own work. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Progress In WiFi Connectivity

Within the IEEE 802.11 protocol, changes were made to achieve either better range or better data
throughput, or both. From its formative days in 1997 to 2013, WiFi standards have been
amended from 802.11 to 802.11b/a, 802.11g, 802.11n, and finally, 802.11ac (should you buy a
wireless-AC router?). No matter how advanced they’ve become, they still belong to the 802.11
family, which will always run at half-duplex. Although improvements have been made, most
notably with the inclusion of MIMO (what’s MIMO?), running at half-duplex reduces the
overall spectral efficiency by half.Should You Buy A Wireless 802.11ac Router? Should You
Buy A Wireless 802.11ac Router?802.11ac promises blistering speeds, but many consumers are
just now getting around to upgrading to 802.11n, leaving many to wonder if the new version is
worthwhile.READ MORE

Interestingly, MIMO-supported routers (multiple-input multiple-output) advertise much faster

data rates. These routers utilize multiple antennas to transmit and receive multiple data streams
simultaneously, which can boost the overall transfer rates. This is commonly found in 802.11n
and newer routers, which advertise speeds from 600 megabits per second and higher. However,
since they operate at half-duplex, 50 percent (300 megabits per second) of the bandwidth is
reserved for transmitting while the other 50 percent is used for receiving.
Full-Duplex WiFi In The Future
There is increasing commercial interest in full-duplex wireless connectivity. The main reason
being that advances in half-duplex FDD and TDD are saturating. Software enhancements,
modulation advances, and MIMO improvements are getting harder and harder. As more devices
connect wirelessly, the need for increased spectral efficiency will eventually be paramount. Full-
duplex wireless connection have successfully demonstrated the instantaneous doubling of this
spectral efficiency.

In areas where there is minimum impact on hardware, software reconfiguration, regulatory

changes and monetary investments, this change from half-duplex to full-duplex will start to
figure more and more prominently. Driven initially by the need for more capacity, we may find
full-duplex WiFi sometime in the near future, initially side by side with the latest half-duplex
components.