Aspects on the phase delay and phase velocity in the electromagnetic near-field

The phase of a complex field and its speed of propagation are fundamental concepts of electromagnetic wave motion. Although it seems to be well-known that faster than light propagation of the phase may occur in, e.g., waveguides and certain dispersive media, it is often ignored that a similar phenomenon, in fact a very marked one, presents itself in the near-field of an arbitrary oscillating current in vacuum. Connected herewith is the observation that the phases of the transverse field components of a dipole approach kr-pi/2 and not kr, in the radiation zone. This article illustrates these phenomena by theoretical and numerical examples as well as indicates their consequences for broad-band wireless communication over short distances