Next generation wireless standards square up
16th December 2009.
It seems we've barely drawn breath after the painfully protracted saga that was the formalisation of the wireless n standard, but we're off again as the battle for the next generation wireless standard starts.
vs 
In the blue corner is the IEEE (the body behind wireless n) with their all-new 802.11ac proposal due to bring us up to 1 gigabit per second some time in 2012. This august body has huge weight behind it in the shape of signed up suppliers, and ownership of the current standards. However, that same weight brings with it more inertia than a truck with square wheels, so the time could be right for a fresh, nimble competitor to nip in with a couple of body blows.
Which brings us to the red corner, where making its debut we have the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (or WiGig for short). WiGig has a (60 GHz) standard which it believes will offer up to 7 gigabit per second speed. They've got some big names in their corner including Nvidia, AMD and TMC, but it is worth noting that for distances over 10metres they're looking to use beamforming which suggests this will be a fairly short range technology. No timescales as yet on the WiGig standard but if they can get a bit of pace going, then the competition will at least encourage the IEEE to get a wriggle on.
Both standards are slated as being backwards compatible with existing standards.
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