Wifi Revolution

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance, or WiGig, an organization that works for establishing a global ecosystem of high-speed and easy-to-use 60 GHz wireless devices that work together seamlessly to connect people in the digital age, has announced it will introduce its unified wireless specification and also open its Adopter Program, which will enable its adopter members to begin developing wireless products that will leverage multi-gigabit-speed wireless communications deploying the unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum. Apart from it, the alliance has also announced that Cisco (News - Alert), a provider of networking solutions has joined its Board of Directors while three other companies have also joined it as contributing members.

With the help of the technology offered by WiGig, enterprises are able to enable multi-gigabit-speed wireless communications among consumer electronics, handheld devices and PCs, so that the industry can adopt a single radio using the unlicensed 60 GHz spectrum.

The new WiGig specification will pave the way for development of high-performance wireless data, display and audio applications that supplement the capabilities of today’s wireless LAN devices. Also, the WiGig tri-band enabled devices that operate in the 2.4, 5 and 60 GHz bands, will now be able to deliver data transfer rates up to 7 Gbps, which is over 10 times faster than the 802.11n data rate. The technology has primarily been developed to offer support for a number of applications on both low-power and high-performance devices, including consumer electronics, PCs, handheld devices and home networking equipment.

In the words of Dr. Ali Sadri, president and chairman, WiGig Alliance, he felt extremely proud to announce the publication of the industry’s first comprehensive multi-gigabit wireless specification on behalf of the WiGig Alliance. Sadri continued that WiGig can now provide the world’s leading innovators with a license to develop next-generation wireless products under royalty-free terms, and with WiGig Alliance’s new partnership with the Wi-Fi Alliance (News - Alert), the organization is one step closer to fulfilling its vision of a unified 60 GHz ecosystem, and the alliance welcomes all companies to join with it as it continues to drive the industry forward.

As a result of the WiGig Alliance’s efforts to attract more and more technology companies to its roster, Cisco has joined the WiGig Alliance Board of Directors. Also, three other companies including Harman International, Peraso Technologies and Samsung (News - Alert) Electro-Mechanics have joined the alliance as contributing members.

According to Bob Friday, Director of Strategic Initiatives of Cisco’s Wireless Business Unit, the company sees 60 GHz technology as an important option in the evolution of wireless LANs in the enterprise, small business and home. Friday noted that the wireless arena is certainly one in which Cisco can contribute greatly, especially as networks and information access become increasingly borderless by nature.

Recently, the Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Gigabit Alliance announced a cooperation agreement for multi-gigabit wireless networking, according to which both the organizations will share technology specifications for the development of a next-generation Wi-Fi Alliance certification program supporting Wi-Fi operation in the 60 GHz frequency band.