But the initial push by Wilocity and these partners will be for device-to-device functions such as wireless docking, synchronization and display connections, Grodzinsky said. Wireless docking stations should be the first marketable use of WiGig, because they could make it easier to connect small, thin devices such as ultrabooks to desktop peripherals, he said.

Once some users have bought some WiGig-equipped products for these functions, it will be easier to promote the technology for wireless LANs, Grodzinsky said.

"That's a very easy, logical way of bundling products together to seed the market," Grodzinsky said. "The full tri-band vision is a lot more than docking."

The deal with Marvell should help to get WiGig into more consumer products, because that company supplies more chips to that market, Grodzinsky said. Atheros is better positioned in the PC business, he said. He expects to see the new partnership bring about consumer electronics and Wi-Fi infrastructure products starting next year. Atheros-based docks are set to hit before the end of this year, he said.

As for cost, WiGig chips should start out about where IEEE 802.11n did before it became a mass-market product, and their cost should likewise come down through economies of scale, Grodzinsky said.