The Wireless Gigabit Alliance™ (WiGig) has this week moved another step closer to the launch of its new Wi-Fi (802.11) upgrade, which uses the unlicensed 60GHz spectrum to deliver wireless networking (WLAN) speeds of up to a staggering 7Gbps (Gigabits per second), by beginning its first ever PlugFest to "test the interoperability" of WiGig devices.

The move is an essential part of preparing WiGig networking kit for its transition from a detailed technology specification and into the first commercial products. WiGig extends the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) layer and is backward compatible with the IEEE 802.11 standard, although you will need supporting hardware in order to benefit and 60GHz limits it to shorter-range uses.


The first WiGig compatible Wi-Fi products are "scheduled" for launch between late 2012 (Q4) and early 2013 (Q1), thus we still have approximately one year of waiting ahead.