Chapter 130
I’ll translate this chapter into polished HTML and preserve the required special formatting. I’m first checking the chapter’s structure carefully so I can keep the prose natural while matching the HTML rules exactly.CHAPTER_TITLE: Fractal Structure
“Let’s try it in Korea first.”
“Jimjim. Korea’s already saturated. We’ve hit the limit here, so we need to expand overseas.”
“I’m not saying we should stop overseas expansion. I’m saying we should refine the technology by applying it in Korea first. Besides, because of the regional differences, they said we’d need to install more anyway.”
James’ eyes gleamed as he spoke, and Colt blinked at him, wide-eyed.
“You… have a method?”
James stepped closer and lowered his voice so only Colt could hear him.
“I think my magic can extend the range of the 5G frequencies.”
It was news Colt would have welcomed under any circumstances.
!!
He had never even considered the possibility of blending modern technology with magic. James had only just thought of it himself.
With a magic circle that uses a fractal structure, we could cover indoor spaces too… and the range of the existing frequency band would expand explosively.
“Uh, by how much?”
“We’d have to test it to know. But I think at least ten times is possible.”
“…Ten times? Then the number of required base stations drops to ten percent of what it is now…….”
Even a tenfold increase would mean they no longer had to meet the number of base stations the government had mandated telecom companies install.
“If we could extend it a hundred times, then one percent might be enough, right?”
“Huff. A hundred times is seriously absurd…….”
“Since when has magic ever been reasonable?”
Magic had always been a mysterious power that surpassed common sense.
“…….”
Colt immediately began crunching the numbers. They would have to overturn every single facility investment plan they had drawn up.
If we cut the planned domestic infrastructure spending, we’d be swimming in cash flow.
Everything could already be handled with the equipment they had built so far.
And if overseas-expansion risk drops from 100 percent to 1 percent……
Of course, the initial investment cost of entering foreign markets would plummet. On top of that, they would secure spare funds by suspending domestic facility investment, which made the investment risk even harder to calculate.
“…What if we combine this with Data Sharing?”
TY Telecom’s 5G technology was growing wings.
“Why don’t you get ahead of yourself? We need to run a test first and see how far the frequencies actually extend.”
“What do you need? Tell me anything.”
Colt was prepared to support every part of whatever experiment James wanted to run. To do that, they would need to go to the Korean research lab immediately.
“Forget the expo. Let’s go to Korea right now.”
“Come on. Why go that far?”
“It’s important, so we need to do it now!”
Colt was speaking out of impatience, but James was no less impulsive than he was.
At the words right now, James pointed at the piece of equipment he had brought to promote the 5G Data Sharing technology: Alpha 0.1.
“Does this machine work?”
The device James pointed to was a miniaturized base station they had brought to the expo for demonstration purposes.
“It only reaches a few dozen meters…….”
It was an experimental device that made use of the 28 GHz band, but that also meant it was vulnerable to obstacles.
“Perfect. Then we can apply the expansion right away and have an engineer measure the connection range.”
“You can apply it right now? Without any preparation?”
James answered with complete confidence.
“What preparation does my magic need?”
“Haha. None at all. It just needs you.”
While the other booths were busy receiving overseas buyers, the quiet TY Telecom booth began the experiment.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
…I came all this way, and now what the hell are they doing?
Park Seong-tae, the team leader who had come along as an engineer for this expo, wore the headphones connected to the testing equipment and stood some distance away from the booth.
A sudden improvement in communication quality is impossible…….
- Beep. ……. Beep. ……. ……. Beep. Beep.
The connection tones coming through the headphones were faint, which meant the signal was extremely weak. Because Team Leader Park headed the TY Telecom research lab that had developed the base station equipment in question, he knew its limits better than anyone.
What can management possibly do about development and research when they don’t know anything…….
Even if they somehow managed to expand the network by a miracle, indoor coverage would ultimately depend on how many repeaters had been installed. Since he was standing in an area packed with exhibition booths, he was certain the current signal wouldn’t change.
- Beep. …….
“Agh.”
Just as Team Leader Park let out a deep sigh over the still-faint connection, the change began.
- Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
“?!”
Startled by the suddenly clear signal, Team Leader Park hurriedly turned his eyes to the display connected to the testing equipment.
“Huh?”
The connection value, which had only moments ago been sitting at the absolute bottom, had suddenly jumped to the very top.
Then Colt ran over.
“Team Leader Park. How’s the connection now?”
“…Representative. The signal strength suddenly increased.”
“Really? Good! Great! So good!”
Colt needed to confirm how far the newly expanded range could reach.
“Let’s go outside the convention hall.”
“Once we’re outside the building, there’s no way it’ll still pick up……”
That was the limit of the 5G test device Alpha 0.1, which operated on the 28 GHz band.
“I said let’s go out and check first.”
The two of them started making their way out of the convention center.
Even as he passed between the booths on the way out, Team Leader Park kept tilting his head at the fact that the signal strength wouldn’t drop.
Why is this happening?
Even after they had gone quite far, the numbers still showed no sign of falling.
“How about now?”
Even after Team Leader Park had completely exited the convention building, he squeezed his eyes shut as he looked at the value displayed on the screen.
This is a mistake.
The connection value being transmitted through the frequency was exactly the same.
“…There seems to be a problem with the equipment. I’m sorry, Representative. I should have brought spare gear, but I left it at the hotel… haah.”
“It’s not an equipment problem, so just show me the numbers.”
“…Here.”
The device still displayed a powerful connection strength.
“…Let’s go to the parking lot.”
“Yes. I’ll go back to the hotel and bring the spare equipment.”
“I’m not saying we’re going to the hotel… anyway, let’s go.”
As Team Leader Park drove toward the hotel, Colt kept checking the device’s numbers, which gradually dropped bit by bit.
“Pull over there.”
“We’re almost at the hotel……”
“I said stop.”
Screeeech.
After getting out of the car, Colt saw the numbers rise a little again and broke into a deep smile.
“It really works!”
“?”
“How far away do you think we are from the convention center right now?”
“About 4 kilometers.”
“And the original range of our mini base station?”
“Around 30 meters.”
From 30 meters to 4 kilometers, it had improved to more than 130 times its original efficiency.
“Look at this.”
Team Leader Park frowned at the numbers on the device Colt held out to him.
The signal is still coming through strongly.
The figure had dropped to about half of the initial value, but at this point even a medium-sized base station should have been unable to maintain a connection.
“Phew. It looks like the equipment really is broken. It was definitely normal earlier……”
“What if it isn’t broken?”
“…Representative. If it isn’t broken, then we should be able to place a call right now. Otherwise the numbers would’ve come up as an error…….”
“Try it.”
“…….”
Knowing full well it wouldn’t work, Team Leader Park still did as the company representative told him and connected to the base station inside the convention center.
“Hello?”
- Colt? It’s me, James.
The person waiting on the other end was, as expected, James.
“Gah!! V-Vice President?”
- Is that Team Leader Park?
“Y-Yes! Vice President James.”
- Connection status is good. I can hear you fine.
“W-wait a second……”
Team Leader Park checked the device he had brought again and made sure it wasn’t somehow connected to another line.
It really is connected to the mini base station, Alpha 0.1…….
But no matter how closely he inspected it, there was no doubt about the connection.
- How far away are you?
“About 4 kilometers…….”
- Oh. Not bad.
There was a huge gap between an increase in communication range from 30 meters to 4 kilometers, and what could reasonably be called “not bad.”
“…….”
While Team Leader Park was still trying to process the situation, Colt cut in.
“James. We’re going farther, so stay on standby.”
- Roger, roger.
Colt pointed ahead with confidence.
“Team Leader Park. Let’s go!”
After that, the final maximum reception range confirmed for Alpha 0.1 reached 5.1 kilometers.
“Fantastic! Even farther than expected!”
“…Is this real? You’re saying our base station is really sending a signal this far? And through a complicated convention center, no less—starting from Alpha 0.1, which was installed at the very back corner of the expo booth, all the way out here?”
“You checked it with me. It’s real!”
“…….”
Team Leader Park still found it hard to believe.
“Did you perhaps install additional equipment to amplify the signal?”
If they had set up an amplifier beforehand, the result wouldn’t be impossible to understand.
“No. Not at all.”
“Then you need to tell me that. I’m the research lab team leader who developed Alpha 0.1, after all. There’s no way the base station equipment I developed could send a signal this far. Please tell me the truth!”
Since this had been brought about by magic, Colt had no way to explain it.
“…Uh. I don’t really know either.”
“Pardon?”
“I only heard Vice President James say it was possible, so we ran the test……”
“…….”
The purpose of the experiment was clear enough…….
It meant the test had begun without anyone understanding what the technology actually was.
“Then I’ll confirm it personally with the Vice President.”
“Call. Go back.”
If this technology is real……
For James, it had been nothing more than a simple blending of magic and technology, but for Team Leader Park it was the birth of a revolutionary new technology that could turn the world upside down.
We can take over the global telecommunications business!
Grip.
Team Leader Park’s hands tightened around the steering wheel.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Back at the convention center booth, James was answering Team Leader Park’s questions after his return.
“…Uh. So you’re asking me to explain this technology in a way that makes sense to you?”
“Yes. Based on today’s measurements, these aren’t values that should be possible in the 28 GHz 5G band. And on top of that, for an ultra-compact Data Sharing base station like Alpha 0.1, it’s even more impossible.”
James had no way to explain magic, so he turned to Colt.
“What? You looking at me like that think I’ve got some genius solution?”
Of course Colt, who couldn’t use magic himself, had no possible answer. But to Team Leader Park, James’ reluctance seemed to mean something else entirely.
“…Is this technology something that has to be kept secret?”
“Well……”
It didn’t matter even if it weren’t kept secret. No competitor could tear apart their base station and reproduce it.
How are they supposed to copy magic?
“I’ll keep it strictly confidential, Vice President.”
“…Haah.”
How the hell am I supposed to explain this?
This was the result of using magic first and thinking later.
“I don’t know. Jim, you figure it out.”
“So you’re saying we shouldn’t apply it? Then should we just bury the 5G frequency amplification technology? It can be applied to every other frequency band too.”
“N-no. What I mean is that you should explain it well so he understands……”
At James’ words, Team Leader Park shot to his feet.
“You mean it can be used on other frequency bands too? Then could we amplify the LTE bands used in developing countries the same way? That’s insane…….”
In Team Leader Park’s common sense, amplification wasn’t possible unless the amplifier matched the frequency band exactly.
“Whoa, whoa. Calm down a bit……”
“How am I supposed to calm down right now! We need to file for a patent immediately! We have to secure this technology!”
“…….”
The problem was that there was no way to prove magic. As James looked stranded, Colt stepped in.
“Vice President James. Is there really no way?”
“Never! No way. There isn’t.”