Intel takes the UWB driver's seat

Intel yesterday described the next steps in its ultra-wideband (UWB) plans at this week’s IDF, which include the formation of yet another wireless "personal area networking" industry trade group.

Intel’s "vision" now includes the muscle of three industry groups - the Multi-band OFDM Alliance (MBOA), WiMedia Alliance and newly-formed Wireless USB Promoter Group (sorry, no website yet) - against a competing standard from Motorola and ExtremeSpectrum.

Intel’s move has been widely interpreted to be an end-run around the IEEE working group, though Intel says the results of the MBOA’s work will be fed back to the IEEE. Intel’s press release said its efforts are "creating an ecosystem for UWB enabled devices".

Intel’s approach basically takes the MBOA-based radio and marries it with a "convergence layer" that could support operation of multiple applications, such as Wireless USB, Firewire or Bluetooth. But Intel is making its preference for Wireless USB clear by the formation of the new "Promoter" group, and making sure its voice (and priorities) is heard by the WiMedia folks by adding its name to the WiMedia member roster.

Wireless USB is targeted to support 480 Mbit/second transfers (comparable to wired USB 2.0) up to about 4 meters and 110 Mbits/s at distances up to 10 meters. (Both numbers are raw data rates). Intel’s announcement said the first "Wireless USB implementations are expected to be in the form of discrete silicon that will be introduced in a number of form factors" including "add-in cards and dongles along with embedded solutions". A completed Wireless USB spec is expected by year’s end with first products appearing sometime next year, with May 2005 frequently mentioned in other coverage of Intel’s announcement.

Intel has lined up some heavy hitters as Wireless USB Promoter Group members including Agere Systems, HP, Microsoft Corporation, NEC, Philips Semiconductors and Samsung Electronics. Joining the seven promoter group companies as "key contributors" are Appairent Technologies, Alereon Inc., STMicroelectronics and Wisair.

Intel’s announcement took care to point out that the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) would act as the trade association for the Wireless USB specification.