Qualcomm has announced its newest family of 60GHz Wi-Fi mmWave chipset, which it says will help to “dramatically extend” Wi-Fi experiences in the upcoming 5G era. The new chipset comprises the QCA64x8 and QCA64x1, which in turn are based on the 802.11ay specification.
To be precise, the 802.11ay MAC (Media Access Control) is crucial to the new chipsets, as it allows them to deliver up to 10Gbps network speeds. The new mmWave-based band is also distinct from the typical 2.4GHz and 5GHz wavebands used in current modems.
As described by Qualcomm, it uses a low interference, bandwidth-rich that should theoretically deliver increased wireless capacity and multi-gigabit speeds. All at ultra-low latency. Both the QCA64x8 and QCA64x1 chips are also expected to deliver extended battery life and enable “always-on ambient Wi-Fi sensing capabilities”.
The QCA64x8 and QCA64x1 chips are already available, but according to sources, consumer devices with the ability to utilize Wi-Gig routers with the 802.11ay band are only scheduled to be released next year.
