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The technology uses millimetre-wave communications in the 60GHz band to transfer data at more than 1Gb/sec. Wi-Fi networks based on the common 802.11g standard manage, at best, 50Mb/sec. The downside is that distances are limited to a few metres.

Toshiba said that the announcement of the technology opens the way to manufacturing integrated circuits for the millimetre-waveband. It said that the new fabrication process uses a low-cost CMOS process that will support development of consumer applications.

It has successfully engineered a receiver chip with on-board antenna, and the next step will be to improve the performance of the receiver while developing the high power technology required for a transmitter.

The technology has been developed to cater for an increasing demand from consumers, who want to be able to transfer information between their home entertainment products wirelessly. Toshiba believes that it will enable the transfer of high density digital content such as HDVD footage, music and broadband downloads between devices such as televisions, computers and HDVD players.