Wireless Gigabit Alliance

1. that does what Wi-Fi does, but better: A
secure, short-range, high-bandwidth wireless
protocol for home use. That's what
the Wireless Gigabit Alliance (or WiGig)
started looking into about five years ago.
WiGig's specifications provide for an in-
Presented by: home wireless system like Wi-Fi that goes
far faster, can handle more devices with less
BIBI ABIDA interference, is more secure, and uses less
power (handy on ever more power-hungry
mobile phones).
This is due to the use of the 60-gigahertz
Wi-Gig band of radio spectrum. The reasons why are
complicated and technical, but the 60-GHz
Frustrated by unsecured Wi-Fi, a fix is on band is sort of like a brand new highway
the way…. compared with the retrofitted roads of
today's Wi-Fi devices. They can carve up
ABSTRACT the spectrum better, design the devices with
more advanced features, and generally fulfill
The widespread availability and use of the needs of a modern wireless device
digital multimedia content has created a better.
need for faster wireless connectivity that
current commercial standards cannot The WiGig 1.0 standard combines two
support. This has driven demand for a single different wireless technologies: 60-gigahertz
standard that can support advanced wireless and Wi-Fi. The first technology
applications such as wireless display and uses the 60-gigahertz band of the wireless
docking, as well as more established usages spectrum to create a 10-meter range wireless
such as network access. network. It also uses ―Beamforming‖ to
extend the range of the 60-gigahertz network
Wi-Fi is so common and used by so many beyond 10 meters. The 60-gigahertz wireless
devices that it's starting to become a network can support devices inside a room
problem. Within the bands of radio spectrum and can transfer data at 7 gigabits per
carved out for Wi-Fi communication, there second, or about 10 times faster than the
are only so many channels and frequencies fastest Wi-Fi networking available.
that devices can connect over. This leads to
interference, low speeds, and dropped
signals.
Just ask anyone who's ever been in a room
with a couple hundred Wi-Fi devices —
getting and keeping a signal can be difficult.
Even Steve Jobs had a demo fail on stage
because of how dense the air was with Wi-Fi
communications.
So the pressure is on to find a replacement

2. Introduction computers and handheld devices. For the
first time, consumers will be able to create a
The widespread availability and use of complete computing and consumer
digital multimedia content has created a electronics experience without wires.
need for faster wireless connectivity that
Specification Overview
current commercial standards cannot
support. This has driven demand for a single The WiGig specification includes key
standard that can support advanced features to maximize performance, minimize
applications such as wireless display and implementation complexity and cost, enable
docking, as well as more established usages compatibility with existing Wi-Fi and
such as network access. provide advanced security. Key features
include:
The Wireless Gigabit (WiGig) Alliance was
formed to meet this need by establishing a Support for data transmission rates
unified specification for wireless up to 7 Gbps; all devices based on
communication at multi-gigabit speeds; this the WiGig specification will be
specification is designed to drive a global capable of gigabit data transfer rates.
ecosystem of interoperable products. Designed from the ground up to
The WiGig MAC and PHY Specification support low-power handheld devices
enables data rates up to 7 Gbps, more than such as cell phones, as well as high-
10 times the speed of the fastest Wi-Fi performance devices such as
networks based on IEEE 802.11n. It computers; includes advanced power
operates in the unlicensed 60 GHz frequency management.
band, which has much more spectrum Support for beamforming,
available than the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz maximizing signal strength and
bands used by existing Wi-Fi products. This enabling robust communication at
allows wider channels that support faster distances beyond 10 meters.
transmission speeds.
Widely used advanced security and
The WiGig specification is based on the power management for WiGig
existing IEEE 802.11 standard, which is at devices.
the core of hundreds of millions of Wi-Fi
Physical layer enables low power
products deployed worldwide.
and high performance WiGig
The specification enables a broad range of devices, guaranteeing
advanced uses, including wireless docking interoperability and communication
and connection to displays, as well as at gigabit rates.
virtually instantaneous wireless backups,
Supplements and extends the 802.11
synchronization and file transfers between
Media Access Control (MAC) layer.

3. Structure
The WiGig specification defines Physical
(PHY) and Medium Access Control (MAC)
layers and is based on IEEE 802.11. This
enables native support for IP networking
over 60 GHz. It also makes it simpler and
less expensive to produce devices that can
communicate over both WiGig and existing
Wi-Fi using tri-band radios (2.4 GHz, 5
GHz and 60 GHz).
Figure 2. WiGig Protocol Adaptation Layers
(PALs)
1.Physical layer (PHY)
Like the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands used by
Wi-Fi, the 60 GHz band used by WiGig is
unlicensed and available
worldwide. Because the 60 GHz band
has much more spectrum available, the
channels are much wider, enabling multi-
gigabit data rates. The WiGig specification
defines four channels, each 2.16 GHz wide
– 50 times wider than the channels available
in 802.11n.These wide channels enable
Figure 1. WiGig architecture enables tri-band WiGig to support applications that require
communications
extremely fast communication, such as
The WiGig Alliance is also defining uncompressed video transmission.
Protocol Adaptation Layers (PALs) that
support specific data anddisplay standards Modulation and Coding Schemes(MCS)
over 60 GHz. PALs allow wireless The specification supports two types of
implementations of these standard interfaces modulation and
that run directly on the WiGig MAC and coding schemes, which provide different
PHY, as shown in Figure benefits:
2, and can be implemented in hardware. The Orthogonal frequency-division
initial PALs are audio-visual (A/V), which multiplexing (OFDM) supports
defines support for HDMI and DisplayPort, communication over longer
and input-output (I/O), which defines distanceswith greater delay spreads,
support for USB and PCIe. providing more flexibility in
handling obstacles and reflected

4. signals. Furthermore, OFDM allows Power Management
the greatest transmission speeds of WiGig devices can take advantage of a new
up to 7 Gbps. scheduledaccess mode to reduce power
Single carrier (SC) typically results consumption. Two devices communicating
in lower powerconsumption, so it is with each other via a directional link may
often a better fit for small, low- schedule the periods during which they
power handheld devices. SC communicate; in between those periods,
supports transmission speeds up to they can sleep to save power. This advanced
4.6 Gbps. capability allows devicesto more precisely
tailor their power management to their
2.Medium Access Control (MAC) Layer actual traffic workload, and is especially
important for cell phones and other handheld
The MAC layer of the WiGig specification battery-powered devices.
includes new features that support advanced
usage models, facilitate integration with 3.Protocol Adaptation Layers (PALs)
Wi-Fi networks, reduce power consumption PALs allow wireless implementations of key
and provide strong security. computerand consumer electronics
Wi-Gig Beamforming interfaces over 60 GHz WiGig networks.
PALs make it easier for implementers to
Use of the 60 GHz band allows extremely produce devices with built-in support for
fast communication, but also presents the specific uses such as wireless connections to
challenge that propagation loss is higher displays. PALs enable highly efficient
than in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. The implementations because they are defined
WiGig specification addresses this challenge directly on the WiGig MAC and PHY,
using adaptive beamforming, a technique rather than layered on other protocols and
that enables robust multi-gigabit can be implemented in hardware. This
communications at distances greater than 10 maximizes performance and reduces power
meters. Beamforming employs directional consumption.
antennas to reduce interference and focus Audio-Visual (A/V)
the signal between two devices into a The A/V PAL allows wireless transmission
concentrated ―beam.‖ This allows faster data of audio-visual data. An example might be
transmission over longer distances. transmitting movies from a computer or
digital camera to a TV set or projector. This
PAL supports wireless implementations of
HDMI and Display Port interfaces, as well
as the High-bandwidth Digital Content
Protection (HDCP)scheme used to protect
digital content transmitted over those
interfaces. It scales to allow transmission of
both compressed and uncompressed video.

5. Input-Output (I/O)
The I/O PAL defines high-performance
wireless implementations of widely used
computer interfaces over 60 GHz.
Conclusion
The WiGig Alliance is also specifying
PALs that define wireless implementations
of A/V and I/O interfaces, facilitating
advanced applications such as wireless
docking, high-speed synchronization and
connection to displays.The publication of
the specification enables manufacturers to
create a global ecosystem of interoperable
WiGig products. Now, the specification is
available to members of the WiGig Alliance,
who are able to develop next-generation
wireless products under royalty-free terms.
In future, we will find people switching to
Wi-Gig.
References
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless
_Gigabit_Alliance
2. http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/1
0/wigig-alliance-completes-multi-
gigabit-60ghz-wireless-specificat/
3. http://www.businesswire.com/portal/
site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=n
ews_view&newsId=2009121000511
1&newsLang=en