The Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) today said it has released the first version of its specification for devices using 60 GHz technology to its members for review.

The WiGig spec is intended to provide raw data rates up to 7 Gbps over short distances and support audio, video and data applications.

The spec is intended to "supplement and extend" the 802.11 MAC layer and be backward compatible with 802.11. The areas that WiGig most closely followed 802.11 are in security (802.11i) and QoS (802.11e). The specification also allows for both low power and high performance modes for applications ranging from short-range transfer of large media files to mobile devices to HD device interconnection.

The WiGig spec does not provide for interoperability with WirelessHD devices that also use the 60 GHz band and that are already shipping. But it does provide for coexistence by including mechanisms to detect and avoid non-WiGig devices using the same spectrum.

Also announced were new WiGig Alliance members. NVIDIA has joined the board of directors and AMD, SK Telecom and TMC have joined as contributor members.

The completed specification will be made available to WiGig adopter members in Q1 2010. The Alliance will spend 2010 working on certification and interoperability test plans, with a goal of being able to certify WiGig devices in 2011.