Samsung has developed a new Wi-Fi technology that the company says will allow users to download a 1GB movie in three seconds.
The Korean electronics company hopes to make its 4.6Gbps Wi-Fi technology available in its devices by 2015, as it believes that the 60GHz 802.11ad Wi-Fi standard that makes it all possible is now "commercially viable" for a wide variety of devices. With the new technology, users can get up to five times much faster speed from the current Wi-Fi speeds of 866Mbps.
Not only will this expedite the transmission speeds of downloading large files such as movies, Samsung says this will also allow users to stream uncompressed high-definition videos from mobile devices to TVs without lagging.
"Samsung has successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialization of 60GHz millimeter-wave band Wi-Fi technology, and looks forward to commercializing this breakthrough technology," says Samsung head of DMC R&D Center Kim Chang Yong in a statement. "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."
One common issue that has plagued other companies from adopting the unlicensed 60GHz band spectrum is the fact that waves operating at higher frequencies typically transmit by line of sight. This often spells problems such as poor signal and performance because higher frequency bands have weak penetration and are susceptible to interference by physical objects such as walls and appliances.
Samsung says it has found a solution to that problem by developing "high-performance modern technologies" such as a wide-coverage beam-forming antenna and millimeter-wave circuit design to commercialize 60GHz Wi-Fi, eliminating the problem of diminishing signal, even when multiple devices are connected to the Wi-Fi network. The company also says it has developed the world's first micro beam-forming control technology to further improve signal quality.
Samsung says it plans to apply the new technology in its audio-visual and medical devices as well as its telecommunications equipment. It will also play a huge role in the expansion of Samsung's efforts in the Internet of Things industry, including its Smart Home platform for connected devices and appliances.
The news comes amidst a concentrated effort to revitalize its finances and push Samsung's smartphones against growing competition from its rival Apple's newest iPhones. Last week, the company announced that its quarterly profits took a nosedive because of slowing smartphone sales and that it plans to invest $14.5 billion to build a semiconductor manufacturing facility in South Korea. Earlier this month, Samsung also revealed that it pays $1 billion per month in royalties to Microsoft for using licensed technologies in Android.
