Qualcomm announced on Wednesday that it has purchased startup chipmaker Wilocity, for a still undisclosed amount, in order to provide speedier, short distance wireless technology in more devices.

The Sunnyvale, California-based Wilocity manufactures faster Wi-Fi chips that use 60 gigahertz to transfer data at gigabit speeds over a relatively short distance, such as between a PC or a table or TV in one’s living room. Wilocity’s technology is called WiGig.

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Qualcomm Chief Executive Officer Cormac Conroy said the company strongly believes in Wilocity’s WiGig technology and considers it important to the industry. WiGig can eliminate cables from all PCs by 2016.

Qualcomm, which holds a dominant position in the global mobile chips market, has been investing in Wilocity for years. Another chip maker, Intel, recognized the importance of Wilocity’s technology.

“The acquisition is a culmination of an ongoing partnership for a number of years,” said Conroy.

With the purchase, Conroy said Qualcomm will expand Wilocity’s technology into computing, networking, and mobile products by combining Wi-Fi and WiGig signals into some of its mobile devices.

Qualcomm plans to incorporate the new technology into its Snapdragon mobile devices that will be offered starting in the first half of 2015.

In a separate statement, Qualcomm Atheros President Amir Faintuch said WiGig will address consumers’ sophisticated demand for smartphone, tablets and computers that will support data-extensive applications such as 4K video streaming and high throughput P2P communication.

WiGig allows users to download HD movies in less than a minute. Downloads using the current Wi-Fi connections take about 15 minutes.

Qualcomm has been pushing to boost its Wi-Fi offerings to address the demand of consumers. In 2011, the company bought Wi-Fi chipmaker Atheros for US $3.1 billion, becoming one of the most expensive technology acquisitions during that time.

Analysts said Qualcomm's purchase of Wilocity puts the company in direct competition with Broadcom Corp, the Wi-Fi industry leader.

TagsQualcomm, Wilocity, WiGig