Chip-making giant Qualcomm is set to create a new tri-band Wi-Fi platform by combining its own technology with that of Wilocity, a start-up it purchased this week.
Using its own WiGig technology, Wilocity creates 60GHz chipsets which are capable of supporting multi-gigabit wireless streaming. They also make extremely fast file transfers possible, mobileworldlive.com reports.
WiGig, which was first demonstrated at last year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), has its own Wi-Fi protocol, known as 802.11ad. The general protocol is currently 802.11ac, which, using the 5GHz band, can support transfer speeds of more than 1Gbps.
Qualcomm will combine both of these with the 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n protocol to create its tri-band chips, which will be used predominantly to speed up smartphones and tablet computers.
The first of Qualcomm’s new chips will be based on the design of its Snapdragon 810, which is expected to be launched officially during the first six months of 2015. According arstechnica.com, it will be the first mobile platform to have full WiGig support.
The acquisition, which is thought to be worth around $300 million, will come as no shock to tech experts as the two companies have been collaborating for some time now. Qualcomm has been investing in Wilocity’s technology for around six years and has played a significant part in its development.
