Home > Wireless Personal Area Networks
60GHz is ideally suited for personal area network (PAN) applications. A 60GHz link could be used to replace various cables used today in the office or home, including gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps), USB 2.0 (480Mbps), or IEEE 1394 (~800Mbps).
Currently, the data rates of these connections have precluded wireless links, since they require so much bandwidth. While other standards are evolving to address this market (802.11n and UWB), 60-GHz is another viable candidate. The intended range of wireless PANs is ten meters or less, which covers the size of most offices, medium-size conference rooms, and rooms in the home.
Wireless PANs could interconnect various electronic devices, including laptops, cameras, PDAs, and monitors. Applications include wireless display, wireless docking station, and wireless streaming of data from one device to the other.
Streaming data from one device to another is an application which benefits from the high data rates achievable at 60GHz. For example, a digital camera with one gigabyte of memory (2^33 bits) will take ~159 seconds to download its contents over a 54 Mbps WiFi connection, but ~13.5 seconds to download over a 630Mbps 60-GHz connection (this calculation blissfully ignores all of the overhead required in a wireless link—hand-shaking and the like).
Currently, the data rates of these connections have precluded wireless links, since they require so much bandwidth. While other standards are evolving to address this market (802.11n and UWB), 60-GHz is another viable candidate. The intended range of wireless PANs is ten meters or less, which covers the size of most offices, medium-size conference rooms, and rooms in the home.
Wireless PANs could interconnect various electronic devices, including laptops, cameras, PDAs, and monitors. Applications include wireless display, wireless docking station, and wireless streaming of data from one device to the other.
Streaming data from one device to another is an application which benefits from the high data rates achievable at 60GHz. For example, a digital camera with one gigabyte of memory (2^33 bits) will take ~159 seconds to download its contents over a 54 Mbps WiFi connection, but ~13.5 seconds to download over a 630Mbps 60-GHz connection (this calculation blissfully ignores all of the overhead required in a wireless link—hand-shaking and the like).