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WiGig (802.11ad) Approved by IEEE, Paves Way for 7Gbps Wireless Speeds

By Wong Chung Wee - on 18 Jan 2013, 11:55am

WiGig (802.11ad) Approved by IEEE, Paves Way for 7Gbps Wireless Speeds

IEEE has recently adopted WiGig as a new wireless standard. Also known as 802.11ad, this standard was first announced in May 2009 and this newly adopted standard supports 7Gbps speeds over 60GHz frequencies and is slated to appear in consumer electronics as soon as next year.

As seen at IDF 2012, Intel demonstrated how an Ultrabook equipped with WiGig could wirelessly dock with an external hard drive and two full HD displays while it plays a full HD video streamed from the external storage device.

The 802.11ad standard will provide short-range wireless networking (WLAN) speeds of up to 7Gbps by using the unlicensed 60GHz radio spectrum band; however, its Achilles heel is its operation at high radio frequencies will limit its ability to penetrate solid objects like walls and household furniture. Hence, despite is touted high speeds of up to 7Gbps, its effective operation is limited by distance, and is seen as a complement to the existing Wi-Fi technology.

Last week, we reported that QualComm and Wilocity had launched their tri-band reference design that combines 802.11ac and 802.11ad wireless capabilities on a single module at CES 2013. Such modules will grant devices simultaneous access to 2.4-5GHz and 60GHz bands.

(Source: WiGig Alliance, ISPreview)

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