Wireless USB to get high-speed jolt from WiGig

The WiGig high-speed wireless standard will power a new wireless version of USB through a deal between the Wi-Fi Alliance and the Universal Serial Bus (USB) Implementers Forum.

The Wi-Fi Alliance has transferred a specification for the WiGig high-frequency technology to the USB-Implementers Forum (USB-IF) as part of a broader effort to work with third parties to make WiGig useful. WiGig can achieve several times the speed of Wi-Fi by using unlicensed 60GHz frequencies within a short range, typically within one room. The new Wireless USB specification will use existing USB 2.0 and 3.0 drivers and APIs, which should make it easy to add to new devices. It could be used for any type of data transfer typically associated with USB, such as backing up content or linking peripherals to a PC.