New Wi-Fi Certified WiGig brings multi-gigabit performance to Wi-Fi devices

The Wi-Fi Alliance released Tuesday 60 GHz technology that brings greater throughput to Wi-Fi networking and device-to device applications.

Wi-Fi Alliance certification for products based on the 802.11ad standard, known as Wi-Fi CERTIFED WiGig, brings multi-vendor interoperability needed to proliferate WiGig devices. WiGig operates in 60 GHz spectrum, which is less congested and complements existing Wi-Fi operating in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, to enable multi-gigabit performance for a range of applications such as wireless docking, augmented reality/virtual reality, multimedia streaming, gaming, and networking applications.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig is a strong complement to Wi-Fi CERTIFIED ac. WiGig delivers benefits for existing networks, and enables a diverse range of new wireless experiences, including scenarios envisioned for 5G. Multi-band Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products supporting 2.4, 5, and 60 GHz allow handoff between frequency bands, selecting the most appropriate band and data rate for the application and surrounding environmental conditions.

WiGig devices will range from smartphones, portable PCs, tablets, and access points, to home entertainment and consumer electronics. It uses wider channels in 60 GHz to transmit data efficiently at multi-gigabit per second speeds and with low latency at distances of up to ten meters. WiGig devices use beamforming to focus a directed signal between devices, to eliminate interference from nearby devices and to enable high performance even in dense 60GHz environments.

Wider channels enable WiGig devices to achieve data rates of up to 8 Gbps, allowing users to download an HD movie in a few seconds. This level of performance is critical to delivering a wired-grade experience for a variety of in-room and outdoor line-of-sight scenarios.

The initial Wi-Fi Certified WiGig products that comprise the test bed for interoperability certification include Dell Latitude E7450/70; Intel Tri-Band Wireless; Peraso 60GHz USB Adapter Reference Design Kit; Qualcomm Technologies 802.11ad Wi-Fi client and router solution (based on the QCA9500 chipset); and Socionext 802.11ad Reference Adapter.

ABI Research forecasts 180 million WiGig chipsets will ship to the smartphone market in 2017, with smartphone chipsets accounting for almost half of the 1.5 billion total market shipments in 2021. As part of the Wi-Fi ecosystem, WiGig delivers the highest level of security, and multi-band devices will interoperate with more than eight billion deployed Wi-Fi products.

“Wi-Fi has delighted users for more than 15 years, and WiGig now gives users even higher performance in a rich variety of applications unleashing an unparalleled Wi-Fi experience,” said Edgar Figueroa, president and CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. “WiGig further expands the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED portfolio into 60 GHz, and will augment existing and developing Wi-Fi programs and technologies. “

“WiGig is an exciting technology that is critical in a connected world with new and emerging use cases,” said Yaniv Garty, Vice President of the Platform Engineering Group and General Manager of Wireless Connectivity Solutions at Intel. “As a leader in WiGig, Intel believes the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig certification program is a critical milestone to drive broader technology adoption across many different industries.”

“Qualcomm Technologies is a strong believer in the power of 802.11ad to empower a new class of services and transform experiences by making multi-gigabit Wi-Fi a reality,” said Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies. “As an early 802.11ad pioneer, Qualcomm powered some of the world’s first 11ad devices, and will now enable a robust ecosystem of mobile, computing, networking and other products. We are proud to have played an important role in the development and launch of this Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig program, in partnership with Wi-Fi Alliance, and are confident this milestone will accelerate commercial adoption.”


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