IBM and Taiwan-based fabless chip maker MediaTek recently announced an agreement to develop chip sets based on IBM Labs’ 60-GHz mmWave wireless technology. Prototype mmWave chips that IBM unveiled in early 2006 achieved throughput of 630 Mbps with a maximum range of 10m, but the company touts the technology as potentially suitable for even higher bandwidth applications, such as ferrying uncompressed high-definition video streams from set-top boxes to displays. In this application, the limited range, which arises due to oxygen absorption, would be a feature, not a bug. Hollywood studios and other content owners prefer not to have their valuable content traveling in uncompressed form for long distances.

In addition to chip development, IBM is researching IC packaging and antenna designs for the 60-GHz band. The IEEE is working toward standardization of applications in the 60-GHz band through the IEEE 802.15.3c working group. More information available.