WiGig Alliance issues 1.1 update for next-generation wireless

The WiGig standard for multi-gigabit next-generation wireless has reached the certification stage with an update of its published specifications, bringing high-speed wireless peripherals and video streaming a step closer to reality.

The Wireless Gigabit Alliance has today published version 1.1 of the WiGig specifications, which it describes as "certification ready", meaning that many of the quirks have been ironed out and the standard is now deemed mature enough for vendors to start developing hardware and testing it for interoperability.

"When you come out with your 1.0 specification, it's from a bunch of very smart people sitting in a room for a couple of years. Then everybody goes off and tries to build to that, and you find out what works and what needs a few tweaks here and there, and this is the result," said Mark Grodzinsky, chairman of the WiGig Alliance Marketing Work Group.

The Alliance members are now shifting the focus from the technology to product development and certification, he added.

However, with firms such as Qualcomm only now starting to produce early WiGig silicon, the first shipping products are not likely to arrive until the second half of 2012.

Nevertheless, Grodzinsky said we can expect to see "lots of product announcements later this year and next year".

As well as the 1.1 specification, which covers the physical and media access control layers of the technology, the WiGig alliance also disclosed progress on upper layers that will enable applications such as wireless laptop docking and seamless connection to wireless storage and video devices.