Wireless network

Physics

IEEE 802.11r-2008

MIMO

Computer network

IEEE 802.11s

IEEE 802

Beamforming

Wireless

IEEE 802.11e-2005

Wi-Fi array

Physical layer

Throughput

Power (physics)

IEEE 802.11

IEEE 802.11u

IEEE 802.11w-2009

Computer science

IEEE 802.11b-1999

Quantum mechanics

Wireless mesh network

Reliability (semiconductor)

Wi-Fi

IEEE 802.11g-2003

Telecommunications

Inter-Access Point Protocol

IEEE Communications Magazine

The IEEE 802.11ad amendment to the 802.11 standard ratified in 2012 created the first multi- Gb/s Wi-Fi technology by using the large swath of unlicensed spectrum at the mm-Wave band. While enabling multi-Gb/s wireless local communications was a significant achievement, throughput and reliability requirements of new applications, such as augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) and wireless backhauling, exceed what 802.11ad can offer. For this reason, building upon IEEE 802.11ad, the IEEE 802.11 Task Group ay has recently defined new PHY and MAC specifications that enable 100 Gb/s communications through a number of technical advancements. In this article, we identify and describe the main design elements of IEEE 802.11ay, including MIMO, channel bonding, improved channel access, and enhanced beamforming training. For each of these elements, we discuss how their design is impacted by mm-Wave radio propagation characteristics and present enabling mechanisms defined in IEEE 802.11ay.

IEEE 802.11ay: Next-Generation 60 GHz Communication for 100 Gb/s Wi-Fi