While the new 802.11ac routers can boost Wi-Fi speeds to an unseen before 866Mbps, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:0059935) is promising that its new innovation will deliver a per-device maximum of 4.6Gbps. Putting that in perspective, that means a 1GB movie would see itself download in under three seconds, which is pure madness to anyone who ever had a dial-up modem.
Finding a way through the existing wall
In order to achieve this, Samsung moved from the heavily trafficked 2.4GHz and 5GHz wireless channels that most routers used and moved to the 60GHz frequency band. Numerous efforts have been made to utilize the 60GHz frequency band but most have fallen short. Or as short as the first wall that the 60GHz frequency band has troubles penetrating. That insurmountable hurdle has stymied the use of the 60GHz frequency band in the real-world. These “WiGig” accessories have thus been relegated to operating at very short ranges.
But Samsung seems to have worked around this, or through this, problem and according to Kim Chang Yong, head of Samsung’s DMC R&D Center, Samsung has “successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialization of 60GHz millimeter-wave band Wi-Fi technology.”
The press release says the company was able to do this by employing “high-performance modem technologies and by developing wide-coverage beam-forming antenna.” The company also stated that they have done this using beam-forming, which allows the “router” to locate devices like tablets, desktops and laptops and focus a signal at said devices rather than just broadcasting a signal in all directions, something that has already been utilized by high-end 802.11ac routers.
Samsung to commercialize next year
As exciting as the prospect is, it will be some time before you see anything from Samsung in the near future. While “commercialization is expected as early as next year,” that does not mean that Samsung will sell a product using the 60GHz frequency band next year as a spokesperson made clear to IDG news.
“As 60GHz is an unlicensed band spectrum globally, along with 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum, industry-level of commercialization is expected as early as next year, but there’s nothing we could confirm at this point on when Samsung products supporting 60GHz Wi-Fi will be available in the market.”
