Yesterday, the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (aka the WiGig Alliance) announced it had completed work on a specification that would enable unprecedented data transfer speeds over a wireless network. And when I say unprecedented, I mean this information moves wicked fast.
Let's say you've got a wireless network running on the 802.11n Wi-Fi specification. The fastest data transfer speeds you'll see if you maximize that network is 600 megabits per second. That's just over half a gigabit's worth of information passing over the network each second. WiGig's transfer speed is more like 7 gigabits per second.
Holy cow, that's fast.
Imagine what you could do with a compatible network of WiGig devices. It would be easier than ever to build a media center PC and stream high-definition movies to your WiGig-enabled HDTV wirelessly. I'm sure many people are intimidated at the thought of hooking up a computer to a television. Taking the cables out of the picture is a different story. With the right software and an intuitive user interface, this specification could revolutionize wireless networks and home theater systems.
I've seen high-speed wireless transmission technology before. In fact, the first time I got to look at it in action was at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2007. But that was just a prototype device that has yet to evolve beyond internal development. The Alliance's specifications have the potential to get manufacturers on board with the technology. The press release states that the WiGig Alliance will release the specifications to member organizations in the first quarter of next year. I imagine it might be another year before we start to see WiGig technology available for home network systems. I'd be surprised if anyone has a WiGig-enabled device at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show. But you can bet I'll keep my eyes peeled for it just the same.
Learn more about the WiGig specification and wireless networking at HowStuffWorks.com:
Tags: Computer Networking, Internet, WiFi and Mobile, Wireless Computers
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