Next-gen gigabit wireless spec formalized with 7Gbps speeds
 

It has been a very busy day for the WiGig Alliance, which is attempting to develop a specification for next-generation wireless devices. Earlier today, the group announced the 1.0 version of its spec, which would use a chunk of spectrum at 60GHz, achieve data rates of up to 7Gbps, and retain backwards compatibility with current-generation WiFi devices. In an effort to show that support for the spec is building, WiGig also announced that it has forged a cooperation agreement with the WiFi Alliance, which promotes the current generation of wireless networking devices, and added networking giant Cisco to its board of directors.

Right now, the spec itself is only available to companies that have joined the WiGig Alliance, although there are details about it scattered through various pages on the group's site. For one, compatible devices will be able to communicate on three frequencies: the 2.4GHz chunk of the spectrum used by 802.11b/g devices, the 5GHz region used by 802.11n, and the new, 60GHz area of the spectrum that is currently not in use. WiGig documentation indicates that there's a lot of unlicensed space in that region, which gives it more options for avoiding interference when transmitting. That may be needed, as there is one HD video spec called Wireless HD that plans on broadcasting there as well (we covered Wireless HD briefly in our roundup of wireless tech).

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/...c ampaign=rss