Wilocity, Atheros join forces

Wireless specialists Atheros and Wilocity have announced a partnership that will see the companies combine their expertise to build tri-band wireless systems which can inter-operate between 802.11n and WiGig systems.

The move will see the companies producing hardware capable of operating both at the 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequencies used by 802.11n devices - which also offers backwards-compatibility with the older 802.11g and 802.11b standards - as well as the 60GHz frequency required by WiGig multi-gigabit wireless networking.

The two companies were, unsurprisingly, talking each others' expertise up as a result of the deal, with Wilocity's co-founder and chief executive officer Tal Tamir stating that "Atheros is the leading innovator in Wi-Fi technology," and that the partnership will see his company "taking its breakthrough 60 GHz technology and combining it with the industry’s most widely adopted Wi-Fi technology." Gary Szilagi, vice president of Atheros' consumer business unit, was equally complimentary about Wilocity, claiming that the company's 60GHz wireless networking technology "is a game-changer for the wireless industry, and is a natural complement to our existing Wi-Fi portfolio."

While the WiGig Alliance - which boasts both Atheros and Wilocity on its board of directors - has been around for a little while, the technology has yet to take off - but a deal between a company that believes it has perfected the implementation and a company which is one of the largest producers of consumer wireless networking equipment in the world could rapidly change that.

Are you looking forward to your next laptop being equipped with multi-gigabit 60GHz wireless technology, or do you have concerns about how well WiGig will tie in with existing wireless systems? Share your thoughts over in the forums.