Samsung Electronics said it cracked the problem of signal weakness when using Wi-Fi in the 60GHz frequency band and that consumer devices and telecoms equipment – delivering speeds ten times faster than current 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi products – would be commercially available next year.

“Samsung has successfully overcome the barriers to the commercialisation of 60GHz millimeter-wave band Wi-Fi technology, and looks forward to commercialising this breakthrough technology,” said Kim Chang Yong, head of DMC R&D Center 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 new solution allows data transmission speeds of up to 4.6Gbp/s, a five-fold increase when comparing the theoretical maximum speed of 866Mbp/s with existing consumer electronics devices.

Unlike 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, Samsung says its 60GHz Wi-Fi technology – based on the 802.11ad standard – maintains maximum speed by eliminating co-channel interference, regardless of the number of devices using the same network.

By doing so, boasts the South Korean manufacturer, the new technology removes the gap between theoretical and actual speeds (hence the tenfold increase claim). And the method that allows multiple devices to connect to the network simultaneously, claims Samsung, is a world first.

Moreover, by leveraging millimeter-wave circuit design and high-performance modem technologies – as well as developing wide-coverage beam-forming antenna – Samsung said it was able to come up with a commercially viable 60GHz Wi-Fi solution.

The vendor said it plans to apply the new technology to a wide range of products, including audio visual and medical devices, as well as telecoms equipment. The technology will also play a central role in the Samsung Smart Home and other initiatives related to the Internet of Things.

There is growing interest in using unlicensed 60GHz as a way to ease pressure in other frequency bands in order to support booming data traffic and online connected devices which are widely expected to number in their tens of billions by the end of the decade.

The Wi-Fi Alliance is expecting WiGig-certified products, which uses the 802.11ad standard at 60MHz, to arrive in 2015.

Regulators seem keen too. In a recent interview with Mobile World Live, FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said 60GHz was one of the frequency bands the US telecoms regulator was looking at to ease spectrum pressure.