5G Internet Comes A Step Closer With Samsung’s Fastest Wi-Fi Yet

Mike Moore,
Wi-Fi (c) marinini, Shuttersctock 2013

Devices equipped with superfast next-generation connections could appear by next year, Samsung says

You could soon be able to download an HD movie in a matter of seconds following a major breakthrough in W-Fi download speeds by Samsung.

The South Korean technology giant has “removed the gap between theoretical and actual” with the development of 60GHz Wi-Fi technology which provides faster data transfer rates than ever before.

The new technology allows download speeds of up to 4.6Gbps, or 575MB per second, a five-fold increase from 866Mbps, or 108MB per second, the maximum speed possible with existing consumer electronics devices.

Samsung MWC 2014Faster than ever

As well as superfast download speeds, Samsung says the new technology should allow seamless HD video streaming from mobile devices to televisions, opening up next-generation media interaction to many more consumers.

Devices featuring the technology could even appear as early as next year, the company says, as consumer demand for data-hungry devices increases as more and more of us become connected. Samsung says it will be looking to apply the technology to a wide range of its devices, from smartphones to audio-visual equipment, and will also be putting it in its Smart Home and other Internet of Things initiatives.

“Samsung has successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialization of 60GHz millimetre-wave band Wi-Fi technology, and looks forward to commercializing this breakthrough technology,” said Kim Chang Yong, head of the DMC R&D Centre of Samsung Electronics.

“New and innovative changes await Samsung’s next-generation devices, while new possibilities have been opened up for the future development of Wi-Fi technology.”

The company has been able to enable such incredible speeds by developing a method to eliminate co-channel interference, which occurs when several devices try to use the same network and results in poor download speeds.

Recent research from Ofcom found that UK consumers are using more data than ever as more of us purchase several smart devices. The UK regulator’s annual Communications Market Report (CMR) reveals there are now 83.1 million mobile connections in the UK, including six million 4G connections.

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