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Wi-Fi Alliance Begins Certification Process For Short-Range Wireless Standard WiGig (802.11ad) (cnet.com)

The stars have finally aligned for WiGig, an ultra-fast, short-range wireless network. The Wi-Fi Alliance has launched a certification process for WiGig products, which it claims, can go as fast as 8Gbps. The technology was first announced in 2009, and it is based on IEEE 802.11ad standard that is supported by many new products. CNET adds:That speed is good enough to replace network cables today. And tomorrow, WiGig should be good for beaming high-resolution video from your phone to your 4K TV or linking a lightweight virtual-reality headset to its control computer. VR and its cousin, augmented reality, work better when you don't have a thick cable tethering your head to a PC. New speed is especially helpful when conventional wireless networks clog up. We're all streaming video at higher resolutions, hooking up new devices like cars and security cameras to the network, and getting phones for our kids. Another complication: Phones using newer mobile data networks can barge in on the same radio airwaves that Wi-Fi uses. Saturation of regular Wi-Fi radio channels "will create a demand for new spectrum to carry this traffic," said Yaron Kahana, manager of Intel's WiGig product line. "In three years we expect WiGig to be highly utilized for data transfer." WiGig and Wi-Fi both use unlicensed radio spectrum available without government permission -- 2.4 gigahertz and 5GHz in the case of Wi-Fi. Unlicensed spectrum is great, but airwaves are already often crowded. WiGig, though, uses the 60GHz band that's unlicensed but not so busy. You will want to check for WiGig sticker in the next gear you purchase.

69 comments

  1. For VR headsets? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That cable looks cumbersome, let us send 60GHz photons through your head instead!

    1. Re: For VR headsets? by WarJolt · · Score: 3, Funny

      There was only a slight increase in cancer in rats. It's hilarious watching those rats flip out as they go over the roller coaster.

    2. Re: For VR headsets? by Guppy · · Score: 1

      Seriously though, this is only going to be good for VR headsets if it is well-optimized for low latency. Probably won't be, with all the need for error correction and multipath corrections and such that wireless transmission needs.

  2. WhyGig? BecauseGig! by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

    Faster, better, stronger!! For today's gig economy! Accept no alternatives!

    --
    My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    1. Re:WhyGig? BecauseGig! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Modern giggers gig gigs! Apps are for luddite app appers! Gigs are the new gig! Gig giggers gig gigs better than app appers app apps. GIGS!

    2. Re:WhyGig? BecauseGig! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't WiG out man!

  3. What about battery life? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Its all well and good with no cables on portable devices, but they still need power to transfer and handle all that data!
    Not much fun if your VR headset has to be recharged every few hours.

  4. Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way!

    Why tie up limited air space when you have fixed systems that need power anyways and with POE your security cameras just need 1 cable and it makes it harder to jam them.

    and 8 GIB max is that per AP when 1 device is getting all of the bandwidth? Will the AP have 10 GB-E ports? USB 3.1 wifi sticks? PCI-E X4 wifi cards? SFP ports?

    or what about just wiring systems gig-e to an switch that can have GB-E 10 or even fiber up links.

    1. Re:Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 2

      One application that could be rather useful, for this standard(or even ones that use spectrum with even worse distance issues) would be the possibility of reducing the number of delicate connectors for devices that are docked/undocked frequently.

      It's hard to beat copper for transferring power(yes, the various wireless charging schemes do work; but efficiency isn't pretty); but, particularly for low voltage, modest current, DC applications where ensuring safety is less of a challenge; you can use simple, robust, cheap connectors.

      Connectors for high speed data are less pleasant, requiring some balance between very careful construction to allow high speeds over a limited number of lines and densely packing a whole lot of signal lines into something that still has to survive hundreds to tens of thousands of mate/unmate cycles and hopefully doesn't attract grit, pocket fuzz, and so on.

      If you have a very high speed wireless link, even one with lousy penetration and high attenuation in air; you can potentially replace a complex and delicate data connector with one radio-transparent spot on the device chassis and one on the dock: no hole in the chassis, no connector to get damaged or full of crud, no fiddly pins getting bent or corroded; and since the two radios are very close together(ideally in a known position) power levels can be fairly low; and interference and noise would be less troublesome.

      Given the issues with atmospheric attenuation; never mind walls, these very-high-speed wifi systems get rather less interesting at greater distances(though yes, SFP ports are creeping into APs, and that's consumer trash, not even some enterprise thing); but if the price isn't too high I'd be delighted to never see another laptop docking station connector again.

    2. Re:Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way!

      It shouldn't, for all the great reasons you give. But the industry hasn't moved to cheap 10Gig adapters on motherboards in ten years, and according to the summary this WiGig is being pushed with a consumer spin. So, cheap. So I will probably be able to transfer at 4Gbps over WiGig with a $200 AP while still shivering at the price tag of a 10GigE switch.

    3. Re: Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wireless charging efficiency can get above 80%, especially when you have an alignment assist like small magnets. It isnt perfect, but neither is a warn connector that gets hot during charging.

    4. Re:Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      But the industry hasn't moved to cheap 10Gig adapters on motherboards in ten years, and at the same time that boards that do have wifi had it on the usb bus. Now even laptops have pci-e X1 for wifi. Maybe 2.0 or 3.0 tied to the pch that also has a bit of other stuff on it tied to X4 DMI link. There is where AMD zen is going to crush Intel.

      in desktops what will cost more an 10 GigE card? or a X2 - X4 wifi card? a usb 3.1 wifi stick with this? that may not even hit the full speed?

      Most wifi cards are pci-e x1 same as most on board nic's. To get 10 GigE you need pci-e X4 at 2.0 speeds. Maybe it can be done with 3.0 with just a X2 link.

    5. Re: Wifi replace fixed cabled systems no way! by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 1

      Wireless charging works surprisingly well; but its efficiency is pretty atrocious compared to the resistive losses you would see with any remotely appropriate cable and connector. Losses to heat in battery charging are the same either way; and AC/DC conversion losses are somewhat higher with wireless charging(conversion efficiency will be the same; but the losses in wireless transmission mean that you will need more power at the wall to deliver the same amount of power to the device).

      It certainly has its uses, where the absolute power levels are low enough that the losses just don't matter much; or where specific considerations make exposed electrical connections a no-go; but the losses are substantial if you need to deliver significant power.

  5. 60 GHz? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Have fun going through even a single wall at that frequency.

  6. Re:Harambe loved wireless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Harambe would always go to Slashdot.

  7. More Channels, Please! by BrendaEM · · Score: 2

    Ever open a Wifi monitor, and just sit back and watch the congestion problems in city areas?

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/c/BrendaEM
    1. Re:More Channels, Please! by GuB-42 · · Score: 0

      That's part of the reason they are using 60 GHz.
      A frequency range has a limited bandwidth. Using Shannon theorem, the maximum bandwidth for the 2.4 GHz range is around 30MBps per dB of SNR total. No matter in how much channels you divide the spectrum, you won't be able to beat that. It's either a lot of small bandwidth channels or a few large bandwidth ones.
      Passed some point, the only solution to increase the bandwith is to increase the spectrum and that's what they are doing with 5 GHz and now 60 GHz.

      Well, there is another solution and it's beamforming. The idea is that instead of broadcasting everywhere, you create a narrow beam just for your target. On a primitive level, that's how antenna dishes work and it improves the signal/noise ratio. This is the idea behind MIMO and similar technologies.

  8. Microwaves by PetiePooo · · Score: 1

    WiGig, though, uses the 60GHz band that's unlicensed but not so busy.

    Yet. You forgot to say, "Yet."

    60GHz is squarely in the Extremely High Frequency band. It is also subject to O2 resonance, so does not work well for long-distance (ie. several km) microwave links. However, for nearby, same-room links like what the article describes, I expect it will work very well. I also expect that people who are EM-sensitive, entering a room with one of these devices could feel like walking into a giant microwave oven..

  9. Define "short range" by MrLogic17 · · Score: 1

    Ok, I'll bite. How far is "short range"?

    1. Re:Define "short range" by Chalnoth · · Score: 1

      For the most part, higher frequency = shorter range, so probably quite a bit shorter than today's 5GHz WiFi. I'm sure you could boost the range with more powerful transmitters, but that's not going to be feasible much of the time.

    2. Re:Define "short range" by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      Ok, I'll bite. How far is "short range"?

      Line of sight. 60 GHz stops dead when it runs into anything solid, including cloth. It's attenuated by the oxygen in air, but air being mostly nitrogen, the effect isn't too terrible. Mostly it's short range because it can't go through walls, can't go through a desk, can't go through a monitor, can't go through a couch.

    3. Re:Define "short range" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But 60ghz can reflect off of surfaces and OFDMA can use these slightly shifted reflection to boost the signal strength. You may not need line of sight, but you'll have some random dead-spots in a room, and can change depending on what or who in the room.

  10. Please put that in airports around the world by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

    Lots of airports support wifi but the quality/speed is so bad ; don't care going to a terminal or something similar to enjoy fast speed.

    --
    Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    1. Re:Please put that in airports around the world by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      "Lots of airports in the world support wifi". Wow. +5 Insightful.

    2. Re:Please put that in airports around the world by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      Maybe "Informative"?

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
  11. 10 meter range with handoff to regular wifi by raymorris · · Score: 4, Informative

    For those curious what "short range" means in this case, about ten meters. So it could be used where you might otherwise use USB or perhaps HDMI. It's designed to hand off seamlessly to regular wifi, so your laptop could have a 6 Gbps connection at your desk which would switch to lower speeds as you carry it into the other room.

  12. Hypochondriacs by sjbe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I also expect that people who are EM-sensitive, entering a room with one of these devices could feel like walking into a giant microwave oven..

    I imagine you mean people who are hypochondriacs since "EM-sensitivity" is a psychiatric illness, not a physical one.

    1. Re:Hypochondriacs by PetiePooo · · Score: 1

      Yes, that is what I mean. :)

      Except that I know a guy (well.. have talked to him a few times in the past) that swears his skin starts crawling if someone has a phone in their pocket when they come talk to him. Of course, the last time I talked to him was before cellphones were common...

      I figure who am I to say what bothers a person.

    2. Re:Hypochondriacs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The anti-male establishment, otherwise known as NAWBO (http://www.nawbo.org/), invented Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS).

    3. Re:Hypochondriacs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      whoosh

    4. Re:Hypochondriacs by Sir+Holo · · Score: 2

      I also expect that people who are EM-sensitive, entering a room with one of these devices could feel like walking into a giant microwave oven..

      I imagine you mean people who are hypochondriacs since "EM-sensitivity" is a psychiatric illness, not a physical one.

      I suffer from EM sensitivity. Particularly in the range of 1 to 13 micrometers (called infra-red; it makes my skin feel hot).

      I am also sensitive to microwave EM radiation. I am preparing a home test to prove this – cutting a hole in the front of my microwave oven to defeat its interlock, and just stick my hand in for a good 60 seconds. I anticipate that the resulting burn (or cooking smell) will be proof enough of my sensitivity.

      I even suffer EM sensitivity to the so-called 'visible light range'. When a large magnifying glass is used to focus "light" onto my skin, it burns.

      I have been told that I am also sensitive to EM radiation in the ultraviolet range, and in the x-ray range, of wavelengths, but don't really feel immediate effects. From those, it's mostly monthly dosimeter reports. . .

    5. Re:Hypochondriacs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm highly sensitive to the ultraviolet range. It can actually turn my skin bright red! I think it's some kind of congenital melanin deficiency.

    6. Re:Hypochondriacs by Agripa · · Score: 1

      I am also sensitive to microwave EM radiation. I am preparing a home test to prove this – cutting a hole in the front of my microwave oven to defeat its interlock, and just stick my hand in for a good 60 seconds. I anticipate that the resulting burn (or cooking smell) will be proof enough of my sensitivity.

      Be careful with this test. I know from previous experience that we smell and sizzle like bacon when heated to cooking temperatures.

  13. VR, huh? by vadim_t · · Score: 2

    Let's see.

    2160 * 1200 (Oculus Rift CV1) 3 bytes per pixel * 8 bit depth * 90 FPS (Oculus Rift required spec) = 5.5 Gbps.

    3840 * 2160 (4K) * 3 bytes per pixel * 8 bit depth * 90 FPS (Oculus Rift required spec) = 17.9 Gbps. At 60 FPS that drops to 11.9 Gbps. To fit in 8 Gbps you have to drop the framerate to 40FPS, which isn't really good for VR.

    Yeah, it works for the CV1. But anyone who's used one knows that a higher resolution is badly needed, so obviously the next iteration will have to be better. I've been hearing talk of 8K not being enough for ideal performance.

    1. Re:VR, huh? by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      I push uncompressed 4K video around networks. 9.1gbps

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    2. Re:VR, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes. But this would probably work well with the Satellite Head/Hand Tracking units. Plus, we probably have three to four years before the next revision of the Head mounted displays. Not only that but the current graphics cards can't do 4K 90FPS with all of the current bells and whistles.

    3. Re:VR, huh? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      No you don't.

      You just think you do. If you're not consuming 17.9Gbps you've either compressed something or you've dropped a few bits for quality purposes (oh wait that's compressed too).

    4. Re:VR, huh? by bws111 · · Score: 1

      Isn't '8 bit depth' already accounted for in '3 bytes per pixel'? If so, your calculation is 8x too high.

    5. Re:VR, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It depends on the frame rate, 3840 * 2160 (4K) * 3 bytes per pixel * 8 bit depth * 48 FPS = 9.6 Gbps.

    6. Re:VR, huh? by citizenr · · Score: 1

      DisplayPort 1.4 supports DSC, lossless line speed zero latency compression (up to 3:1). I imagine they will reuse that.

      --
      Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
    7. Re:VR, huh? by AbRASiON · · Score: 1

      Also, doesn't HDR require 10bit on top of that?

    8. Re:VR, huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Gbps" has a lowercase "b", which means gigaBIT per second, so from 3 bytes per pixel you do need to do x8 to get to the bits.

  14. Except.... by Lumpy · · Score: 0

    It can not replace network cables in real world buildings sorry but 5Ghz utterly sucks going through walls.

    Actually it utterly sucks going through anything but dry open air. humidity goes over 80% you lose range.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Except.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Read the article much? It’s a SHORT distance technology, designed to go a couple of meters. Who said anything about replacing network wiring in buildings?

    2. Re:Except.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Support for beamforming, enabling robust communication at distances beyond 10 meters. "

            Herp Derp Much?

  15. Doesn't go through walls by rahvin112 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Only problem is it can not penetrate walls making it essentially line of sight.

    1. Re:Doesn't go through walls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kinda like those IR ports nobody ever used then?

      You're gonna have to put the phone next to the TV tho aren't you? You can't even walk in front of it at 60Ghz without messing it up can you? Might as well plug it in while you are there...

    2. Re:Doesn't go through walls by pak9rabid · · Score: 1

      Only problem is it can not penetrate walls making it essentially line of sight.

      That's a good thing.

    3. Re:Doesn't go through walls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not that big of a problem because if your phone is on you, and someone walks between phone and tv, you also lose vision (vision is line of sight)

    4. Re:Doesn't go through walls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? The only reason for wifi is so I can use my laptop in bed.

    5. Re:Doesn't go through walls by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      That's a feature. Adding in an access point in any room where you need high speeds should be possible, and meanwhile your neighbor's network won't crap on yours.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:Doesn't go through walls by Chalnoth · · Score: 1

      Not for home Internet.

    7. Re:Doesn't go through walls by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And is current Wi-Fi technology not enough to use your laptop in bed? You need many Gbps to watch your bedtime cats?

  16. Maybe not so far off after all. by DumbSwede · · Score: 1

    I know latency is an issue, but surely we can use compression to some degree. 4:1 10:1? Run length encoding comes to mind. Maybe give up some theoretical resolution with a compression type that isn't designed to be 100:1 but nearly instantaneous in encoding and decoding (again, something like RLE).

    Note, the same goes for transmitting to your TV from your phone, focusing more on ease of encoding (to save phone battery life).

  17. 20 years after BLAST by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  18. Delusions by sjbe · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Except that I know a guy (well.. have talked to him a few times in the past) that swears his skin starts crawling if someone has a phone in their pocket when they come talk to him. Of course, the last time I talked to him was before cellphones were common...

    I just see it as another manifestation of whatever causes people to have delusional parasitosis. It's probably the same class of mental illness we find in people who (wrongly) think they have MSG or gluten sensitivities too.

    I figure who am I to say what bothers a person.

    I don't doubt that their brain is doing evil things to them. I worry about the ones that can't wrap their heads around the fact that it's almost certainly all in their head. I think they have a real illness and need real help, just not the with the disease they think they need help with.

    1. Re:Delusions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The anti-male establishment, otherwise known as NAWBO (http://www.nawbo.org/), also invented Delusional Parasitosis (Ekbom's syndrome).

  19. Re:Harambe loved wireless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Harambe would say, "What's with the retired meme, oldfags?"

  20. And what happens to regular wi-fi? by davecb · · Score: 1
    If it also uses the wi-fi freqencies to get more bandwidth, those signals are going to propogate a *lot* farther that 10m.

    I read this as a DOS attack on your neighbours' wi-fi (;-)) followed by the units being banned, followed by either

    1. - having them be given their own frequency band or
    2. - a series of lawsuits by the vendors to allow them to jam the industrial, scientific and medical radio bands (wi-fi)
    --
    davecb@spamcop.net
    1. Re:And what happens to regular wi-fi? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No. It uses 60GHz. RTFS

  21. Congratulations, wi-if alliance. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You just invented Bluetooth!

    1. Re:Congratulations, wi-if alliance. by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, Wi-Fi alliance will add security. Not now of course, that would hurt the emerging market. But soon. Someday. Please stop paying attention to the competing standards!

  22. It's a great technology by sldunn · · Score: 3, Informative
    802.11ad works in the 60GHz spectrum. This makes it perfect for in room network access and giving PAN functionality via WiFi Direct. Spectrum reuse for this band is insanely good.

    Why? 60GHz is heavily attenuated by just about everything. If it's in room, you'll get decent coverage either through directly through LOS, or slightly attenuated by multipath. But it won't go through the walls too well, and it gets attenuated pretty quickly even by the atmosphere.

    Check out this. https://transition.fcc.gov/bur...

    But isn't this bad? Well, if you are hoping to drop a single 802.11ad access point in a building, and hoping to get whole office coverage.

    But, if your 802.11 in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum are saturated, you can drop an 802.11ad AP into conference rooms, or places people use a ton of bandwidth, and offload it. Oh, and one more thing. Pretty much every implementation of 802.11ad that I've seen makes heavy use of either an array of highly directional antennas or beamforming. This just helps out more with spectrum re-use, and non-interference between different 802.11ad devices in proximity.

  23. Version numbers?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Using numbers to denote frequently revised code or standards was done deliberately in a planned manner.

    With that fact in mind, can we lose the alphabet soup of WiFi suffixes?

    Let's lobby to call the new standard 803.0 or even 802.12... WTF?!

  24. ad? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is the next version adhd ?

  25. It's not an update, completely different purposes by raymorris · · Score: 1

    This isn't an update of some other standard. It's not designed to replace your current wifi. It only works within the same room - doesn't penetrate walls. I can replace USB, so should it be called USB version 4, in your opinion?

    On a similar note, 802.11a and 802.11b were standardized at the same time, with manufacturers producing b hardware first, then a. B didn't replace a, wasn't intended to replace a, it's more like gasoline and diesel. 802.11a had shorter range and higher bandwidth than 802.11b. Neither was later or better, they are different options for different uses.

  26. Infrared? by Guppy · · Score: 1

    Only problem is it can not penetrate walls making it essentially line of sight.

    In that case, what makes using the 60GHz band better than using Infrared? This is looking like a new higher-bandwidth IrDA.