Ultra-fast, short-range wireless standard 802.11ad has been officially approved by the IEEE, opening the door to more mainstream development. The WiGig Alliance, which announced plans to merge with the Wi-Fi Alliance earlier this year, hopes to speed adoption of 802.11ad now that a certification process is in place. Unlike the relatively new gigabit 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, 802.11ad or WiGig isn’t meant to replace current-generation wireless networks. Instead, it can provide 7Gbps speeds over short distances — like between different devices in a room — over the 60GHz frequency, supplementing Wi-Fi.
Short-range, 7Gbps WiGig networks are getting closer with new standard approval
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Wilocity, which is on the WiGig Alliance board, demonstrated early products using the standard at last year’s CES. In 2013, the company showed off a first wave of devices meant for consumers, including a Dell ultrabook, as well as a tri-band reference product that can connect to 60GHz WiGig, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, and current-generation 2.5GHz / 5GHz wireless. The 802.11ad standard isn’t quite here yet, but it’s well on its way.
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