60 GHz technology brings unprecedented throughput to Wi-Fi networking and device-to device applications
Austin, Texas, October 24, 2016 – Wi-Fi Alliance® certification for products based on the 802.11ad standard, known as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED 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.
WiGig 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 60 GHz 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.
“Wi-Fi Alliance certification has a strong history of accelerating broad technology adoption across the industry, and we expect 2017 to be a breakout year for WiGig on the heels of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program availability,” said Phil Solis, Research Director, ABI Research. “The ecosystem for WiGig spans the mobile, PC, and consumer electronics industries across the consumer, enterprise, and service provider markets. Devices will leverage the brand and ubiquity of Wi-Fi for continued momentum across these industries.”
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. 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. “
The first Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig products which comprise the test bed for interoperability certification are:
- 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)
- Socionext™ 802.11ad Reference Adapter
For more information, please visit: http://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/wi-fi-certified-wigig
Industry response to WiGig:
"Today's launch of the certification program is a key milestone in the development and market deployment of WiGig technology. Our customers can be confident that products carrying this globally recognized stamp of approval meet industry standards of security and interoperability, and in partnership with us they are able to quickly bring to market a wide-range of exciting products." – Mark Barrett, CMO at Blu Wireless Technology, a global leader in WiGig Intellectual Property licensing
“WiGig is an exciting technology that is critical in a connected world with new and emerging use cases. 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.” – Yaniv Garty, Vice President of the Platform Engineering Group and General Manager of Wireless Connectivity Solutions, Intel
“The announcement of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig is a major step in the adoption of 60 GHz IEEE 802.11ad products. With its multi-gigabit per second speeds, WiGig will not only enhance existing wireless applications such as networking, media streaming and wireless broadband but also bring wireless connectivity to a range of demanding applications including gaming and VR. Peraso is proud of our engineering team’s dedication to the interoperability test program and pleased to have its RD-W110 USB Adapter Reference Design selected for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig test bed.” – Brad Lynch, Senior Vice President, Product Development, Peraso Technologies, Inc.
“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. 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.” – Rahul Patel, senior vice president and general manager, connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
“The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED WiGig certification program is a very important milestone for this wireless arena. We are proud to participate in this program launch with our testbed reference device. Customers will be able to enjoy a wide variety of applications using WiGig, an ultra-fast wireless communication technology. We will provide new user experiences by our RF-CMOS technology based devices.” – Koichi Yamashita, Senior Vice President, IoT and Graphics Solution BU, Socionext, Inc.
About Wi-Fi Alliance®
www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has certified more than 30,000 Wi-Fi products. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.
Media contacts:
Elliott Suthers
Highwire PR for Wi-Fi Alliance
wi-fi@highwirepr.com
+1-415-963-4174 ext. 6