With the signing of a memorandum of understanding last Thursday, the final barriers for a merger between the Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance and the WiFi Alliance have come down.
Under the banner of the WiFi Alliance, the plan is to develop a 60GHz wireless interoperability programme by end 2013.
This marriage will further compatibility and interoperability between devices and accelerate adoption of higher speed standards.
The goal is to transfer technology development activity and WiGig assets to the WiFi Alliance by this summer while the first interoperability certification for WiGig products is due later this year.
The merger is the result of two years’ collaboration in which the WiGig Alliance developed technology specifications, including the Mac-Phy and Protocol Adaptation Layers (PALS), while the WiFi Alliance worked on interoperability certification for 60GHz products.
Combining the joint expertise of the two organisations is expected to accelerate the availability of fast, high-performance, seamless 60GHz solutions resulting in a seamless, faster and more efficient experience for users.
WiGig technology supports short-range, multi-gigabit connectivity for applications ranging from high definition display extensions to peripheral connectivity and I/O cable replacement.
Communications between enabled handheld devices, consumer electronic equipment and PCs uses readily available unlicenced 60GHz spectrum.
The overall aim is to increase efficiency by harmonizing connectivity and application layer solutions and integrate WiGig technologies into the entire range of WiFi products.
“This is an exciting technology, and has been an important highlight of our certification roadmap for some time, so we are delighted to take this step,” said Wi-Fi Alliance president and CEO Edgar Figueroa.
ABI Research expects annual shipments of devices including both WiFi and WiGig technologies to reach 1.8 billion by 2016.
“It’s clear that 60GHz technology is an important part of the future of wireless connectivity and a significant complement to traditional Wi-Fi networking,” explained Peter Cooney, practice director for semiconductors, ABI Research.
“With so many devices expected to incorporate both traditional Wi-Fi and WiGig, it just makes sense for activities to consolidate under the Wi-Fi Alliance organization.”