Intel and Qualcomm Team Up For 802.11ad WiFi – 4.6 Gbps WiGig

By Nathan Kirsch

TP-Link Talon AD7200

At CES 2016 we saw TP-Link introduce the worlds first 802.11ad WiGig router, the Talon AD7200, and then we also learned that Acer introduced the worlds first laptop with 802.11ad wireless, the TravelMate P648. Talon AD7200 is a bleeding-edge flagship router that is capable of up to 800Mbps on 2.4GHz, 1733Mbps on 5GHz, and 4600Mbps on 60GHz (WiGig). If you do the mate on that you get 7,133 Mbps and the folks over at TP link rounded that up to 7200 for the name of the router as they though it had a better ring to it than the actual number. Pretty amazing speeds and we’ll see multi-gigabit 802.11ad devices being all the rage from this point on. 802.11ad just got a huge boost today when Qualcomm Atheros and Intel announced a collaboration to work on 802.11ad WiGig together. Now that Intel and Qualcomm Atheros are working together on the development of 802.11ad WiGig we should see laptops, tablets, smartphones, access points, storage devices, untethered VR glasses and all sorts of other devices come to market quicker due to the companies working together to ensure full interoperability.

wigig

We’ve been hearing about tri-band Wi-Fi products that use 802.11n, 802.11ac, and 802.11ad in the 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 60 GHz bands, respectively, that are also backward compatible to the older protocols within each band for years. The move to WiGig will bring increased capacity, speed, and performance for all sorts of wireless networks and devices. We are very excited by what it means for the future! We don’t expect 802.11ad WiGig technology to replace 802.11ac entirely because it operates in the 60GHz frequency range and that means it has some pretty sever limitations in terms of range (we are talking just a few meters or 30 feet at most). A higher frequency means a shorter wavelength. A shorter wavelength equals higher attenuation, and shorter range.That means WiGig will be amazing for some things in close range (think VR headsets or WirelessHD in the living room) and not so great for whole home coverage. That is why tri-band Wi-Fi routers will be the next hot item for enthusiasts! It also means that you’ll need to move your router into the room you use the most, so get ready to make some adjustments to your home network setup!