Subject: [NEXTEL-1] UWB could revolutionize wireless networks

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 24 May 2003 14:01:33 -0400

UWB could revolutionize wireless networks

Friday, May 23 2003
by Andrew McLindon

A new high-speed, low-cost wireless technology
that could become the standard for home networking
is predicted to make its commercial debut in 2005.

According to research firm In-Stat/MDR, the industry expects a
standard for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) to be ratified by the first half of 2005,
with the first batch of UWB products following later that year.

The news is likely to cause unease among firms that are currently
backing wireless networking technologies such as Bluetooth and 802.11b
(Wi-Fi). This is because UWB is potentially capable of providing faster
connections at a lower cost than such systems.

Unlike those technologies, which emit radio waves on specific
frequencies, UWB devices can send out up to 1 billion pulses of radio waves
per second on random frequencies. By timing returning pulses, UWB-enabled
devices can determine where objects and people are and can measure their
positions with impressive accuracy.

Not only is UWB capable of carrying large amounts of data over a short
distance, it does so using only a small amount of power. It also has the
ability to carry signals through doors and other obstacles that tend to
reflect signals at more limited bandwidths.

Such capabilities have excited some in the wireless sector but have
concerned others. Airlines and mobile companies have claimed that UWB's
multi-frequency standards would cause interference with their systems.
However, the FCC in the US ruled in February 2002 that UWB was safe and
authorised the unlicensed operation of UWB devices. This memorandum was
largely reaffirmed, with some minor changes, a year later.

The FCC's ruling has opened up the commercial potential of UWB, said
In-Stat/MDR, and UWB proponents have been "scrambling to find their place in
the commercial world" ever since.

Like its backers, In-Stat/MDR certainly has high hopes for the
technology. It believes that UWB can be the system that delivers the
necessary bandwidth and quality of service that many consumer electronics
companies have been looking for from wireless technology.

"Overall, UWB has much potential in linking together entertainment
devices within a home network, and also may serve to penetrate the business
market through its expected penetration in the PC market," said Gemma Paulo,
a senior analyst with the research company.

Although In-Stat/MDR said it expected consumer electronics firms to
start demonstrating UWB-enabled products at the January 2004 Consumer
Electronics Show, it concluded that it was difficult to project the year
when such goods would ship in volume. This, it said, was because it was not
entirely clear when the introduction of the standard, which would see a
large number of vendors enter the market quickly and prices fall, would be
exactly. The research firm said that standards-based chipsets are expected
to roll out in the second half of 2004 or early in 2005.

Among the first consumer electronic products predicted to be
UWB-enabled are flat-panel displays, with external cards and dongles for
lower-cost devices and PC products to follow.

In-Stat/MDR also noted the recent growing interest in UWB among major
IT and electronics firms. For instance, both Motorola and Philips
Semiconductor announced relationships with UWB firms in 2003, while
representatives from companies such as Intel, Panasonic, Microsoft and Sony
have participated in meetings about the UWB standard.

http://www.enn.ie/news.html?code=9361535

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