Could New Gigabit-Speed Wi-Fi Ship 1 Billion Devices in 4 Years? Feb 8, 2011

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The need for more and faster connectivity in a multitude of devices – including networked and Smart Grid-enabled home appliances – is addressed in the development of the new 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology standard, intended to provide gigabit speeds. Market research firm In-Stat forecasts that the impact of this standard will be significant, soon, with shipments of 802.11ac-enabled devices projected to grow from zero in 2011 to nearly 1 billion by 2015.

“The goal of 802.11ac is to provide data speeds much faster than 802.11n, with speeds of around 1Gbps,” said Frank Dickson, Vice President of Research for the research firm. "The timing for 802.11ac approval is to have a draft standard created by 2011 and have the first 802.11ac products out by the end of 2012. The technology behind 802.11ac has not been finalized. However, it will likely involve bonding four or even eight channels together and some tweaks to the modulation scheme.”

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