lotsofish - 10:30 pm on May 13, 2010 (gmt 0)

The 60ghz band is a LONG way from the visible light spectrum. Light is around 400000ghz - 500000ghz.

The main disadvantage that the 60ghz band has is that oxygen will absorb some of the RF at this frequency range. I don't know how much this affects range in low power short range devices. The main advantages are that, like the 2.4 and 5 ghz bands, it's already open for unlicensed use, and with more frequencies to use, the possibility for higher bandwidths.

Antennas for this band are very small. An array of antennas might barely be bigger than a single 2.4ghz antenna, so with the right antenna designs, I would think range will probably be as good or better than we have now.

We already use 40ghz, 71-76ghz, 81-86ghz and 92-95ghz for high bandwidth point to point communications, but all these bands require a license. The 60ghz band could open up more consumer friendly point to point equipment. Sounds cool to me.