Qualcomm begins shipping 802.11ay silicon for mobile devices and applications, including VR and UHD video

Qualcomm has begun shipping a family of 60GHz Wi-Fi chipsets for both mobile and infrastructure applications that uses the new IEEE 802.11ay specification. Think of 802.11ay as a supplement to traditional Wi-Fi, with real-world throughput of more than 7 gigabits per second (Gbps), according to a company spokesperson.In addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands currently in use by Wi-Fi routers and other devices, 60GHz technology is expected to be sort of a high-speed, short-range supplement. The type of applications Qualcomm is targeting include wireless VR and ultra high-definition video streaming. Qualcomm also powers numerous smartphones.What we didn't know was exactly how fast Qualcomm expects data to move, and over what distances. Those questions were answered Wednesday. According to a company spokesperson, the 802.11ay spec is theoretically capable of moving data through silicon at more than 10Gbps. In the real world, though, the actual throughput should be more than 7 Gbps.To read this article in full, please click here