Wi-Fi, WiGig industry groups to merge

LONDON – The Wi-Fi and WiGig industry associations have outlined plans to consolidate their activities within the Wi-Fi Alliance.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is the long-standing trade association and certification body for wireless LAN products based on the 802.11 standard and typically operating at 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. The Wireless Gigabit Alliance was created in 2009 to promote the adoption of multi-gigabit speed wireless communications technology operating over the unlicensed 60-GHz frequency band.

The agreement to consolidate is the result of more than two years of collaboration between the organizations, in which the WiGig Alliance developed technology specifications, including MAC-PHY and Protocol Adaptation Layers while the Wi-Fi Alliance initiated work to develop an interoperability certification for 60-GHz products.

The transition of both the technology development activity and WiGig assets to the Wi-Fi Alliance is expected to be completed by the middle of 2013, the groups said. The first Wi-Fi Alliance interoperability certification program for WiGig products is expected to launch later this year.

WiGig offers short-range, multi-gigabit connections for applications ranging from high-definition displays to peripheral connectivity and I/O cable replacement such as the WiGig Serial Extension, WiGig Bus Extension and WiGig SDIO Extension. Early 60-GHz implementations based on the WiGig specifications are beginning to enter the market.

"Combining the expertise of Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig Alliance will deliver a terrific user experience with 60-GHz solutions, and will help ensure that a full range of interoperable WiGig solutions  reaches the market as quickly as possible," Wi-Fi Alliance president and CEO Edgar Figueroam said Wednesday (Jan. 3) in a statement


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