The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board announced approval of an amendment to the IEEE 802.11ad-2012 amendment that aims to provide blazing data rates up to 7 gigabits per second (Gbps) “more than 10 times the maximum speed previously enabled within the IEEE 802.11 standard.”
The new addition should do a lot to address skyrocketing demand for wireless data via the Internet and cellular networks. IEEE views the addition of 802.11ad – 2012 as “a perfect complement to the existing 802.11 standard, commonly known as Wi-Fi. The new standard is expected to act as the foundation for “tri-band networking, wireless docking, wired equivalent data transfer rates and uncompressed streaming video,” according to an IEEE press release.
A “fast session transfer” feature in the new 802.11ad standard enables wireless devices to shift between legacy 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands to the 60 GHz frequency band, IEEE explains, ensuring that devices are “best connected” and able to operate optimally within available frequency bands.
“IEEE 802.11 is undergoing a continuous process of refinement and innovation to address the evolving needs of the marketplace, and there is no better proof of that fact than IEEE 802.11ad,” Bruce Kraemer, chair of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Working Group, commented.
“By migrating up to the next ISM band (60 GHz), we break ground on new spectrum for IEEE 802.11, enable an order of magnitude improvement in performance and enable usages that have never before been possible with existing IEEE 802.11 — namely wireless docking and streaming video.”
“More than 300 individuals from equipment and silicon suppliers, service providers, systems integrators, consultant organizations and academic institutions from more than 20 countries participated in IEEE 802.11ad ratification. The global collaboration effort led to the successful completion of the standard 50 percent faster than the previous major PHY/MAC IEEE standard of this magnitude. The amendment was published in December 2012,” IEEE added.
The announcement was made at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is taking place in Las Vegas this week.
