Wi-Fi 6 may be in the works , but it won't offer the fastest wireless connection. WiGig, on the other hand, is designed for ultra-fast speeds over short distances, and an improved version is set to be released in 2019.
WiGig transmits data wirelessly at a frequency of 60 GHz, unlike Wi-Fi 6 and other “regular” versions of Wi-Fi that use frequencies at 2.4 or 5GHz.
The 60GHz frequency is used less than the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies, which means it can carry more data at once. This translates to faster wireless data transfer speeds. In short, you get faster Wi-Fi when you use WiGig.
The current version of WiGig is rated at around 5 Gbps, while real-world Wi-Fi 6 speeds will likely be a little over 2 Gbps. The newer version of WiGig should be even faster at around 10 Gbps.
That sounds great, but there's a downside. The shorter wavelengths WiGig uses give it a much shorter range. The Wi-Fi Alliance says the current version of WiGig can support distances of up to 10 meters. However, WiGig's signal will have a hard time getting through walls or other obstacles.
WiGig devices can drop to 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz frequencies if necessary, but at these frequencies, they don't deliver the super-fast speeds of WiGig.
WiGig was first announced in 2009 by the Wireless Gigabit Alliance, a trade association that supports the technology. In 2013, the Wireless Gigabit Alliance was shut down and taken over by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which oversees Wi-Fi standards such as Wi-Fi 6. So “Wi-FI CERTIFIED WiGig” is now a Wi-Fi Alliance standard.
The original version of WiGig, released in 2012, uses the 802.11ad standard and offers speeds of around 5Gbps over a maximum distance of 10 meters.
A new, faster standard called 802.11ay is scheduled to be released in 2019, so we'll see faster WiGig products. Qualcomm's Dino Bekis told The Verge that this new standard could be twice as fast and will communicate over distances of up to 100 meters.
WiGig won't replace Wi-Fi 6, as it won't be able to pass through walls and other obstacles.
You can think of WiGig as an optional add-on to Wi-Fi. Any devices that support WiGig will also support underlying standards like Wi-Fi 6. However, not all Wi-Fi 6 devices will include support for WiGig.
The older 802.11ad standard has been around for a while, and very few devices support it. Devices that will support the 802.11ay standard will start shipping in 2019.
For example, if you buy an ASUS ROG Phone, its dock communicates with its adapter via WiGig.
Theoretically, you could buy a WiGig-enabled router and a WiGig-enabled laptop and get blazing-fast speeds, but these devices haven't hit the market yet.
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