USB connector cable days numbered 30 May, 2006 By Liam Lahey

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The San Ramon, Calif.-based not-for-profit open industry association promotes and aims to enable the rapid adoption, regulation, standardization, and multi-vendor interoperability of ultra-wideband (UWB) worldwide.

Officials for the Alliance said the ability for consumers to experience true, seamless connectivity among wireless devices is coming to market as early as this autumn

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"It is one scenario that is being played out," said Jon Rosdahl, WiMedia Alliance vice-president. "The nice thing about wireless USB is the fact you won't need cables to connect your peripheral devices to a computer . . . if communication cables can be done away with, think of how much more enjoyable the consumer experience will be.

"We also see applications forthcoming for small offices or home offices in terms of sharing printers or back-up facilities for hard-drives."

Wireless USB has been under development for about three years, Rosdahl said, while industry momentum behind the WiMedia Alliance continues to surge. Just a few weeks after the WiMedia Alliance announced a key endorsement of its' UWB common radio platform by members of the Bluetooth SIG, the Alliance's membership surpassed the 200-member company milestone. Together, these members are building the necessary infrastructure for a WPAN that offers flexibility to consumers managing and viewing multimedia content.

"We're looking at wireless USB products being delivered to the marketplace by the fall," he said.

A month and a half ago, the Bluetooth SIG selected the WiMedia UWB common radio platform as its solution for high-speed Bluetooth technology applications. The result is a reliable WPAN that supports multiple application protocols fairly and equally, enabling wireless USB, Bluetooth technology and other UWB-based product markets to thrive.

Rosdahl said the expectation for Bluetooth now that it has adopted WiMedia's common radio platform, is for its' technology roadmap specifications to be clarified by 2007 and actual products hitting the shelves by 2008.

"From a consumer perspective, we're working very hard with regulatory bodies around the world as a means of making their lives better in terms of simplifying the installation and use of technology devices," he said.

WiMedia's interoperability testing event last March saw the testing of chip-level implementations designed to the WiMedia Alliance's PHY specification. Chips designed to the WiMedia Alliance's PHY specification can offer transfer rates as high as 480 Mbps, low battery consumption and low cost, single chip implementation.

Meanwhile, the WiMedia Alliance's Certification Program is designed to ensure that WiMedia UWB implementations conform to the specifications, thereby allowing the best user experience possible. The Certification Program will launch with formal PHY implementation testing, followed by application building blocks and consumer product implementations.

"Market segments critical to the proliferation of seamless WPAN connectivity are blending now as typical personal computer, consumer electronics and mobile market capabilities cross," said Stephen R. Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance, in a statement. "It's important to ensure that the WiMedia UWB platform supports the needs of these collective markets. Incorporating our members' opinions and expertise is the only way to ensure success."

For more information, surf to www.wimedia.org.