The WiMedia Alliance announced the registration of four physical layer chipsets from three companies supporting both WiMedia band group 1 and band group 3. The WiMedia Alliance continues making strides in its work to enable the next generation of multimedia products for the wireless personal area network. More than 300 leading companies in the consumer electronics, personal computing, automotive and mobile device markets are participating in the Alliance's efforts to promote the adoption of UWB technology worldwide. WiMedia's UWB Common Radio Platform is the foundation for a number of high speed wireless protocols, including next generation Bluetooth and Wireless USB.
This announcement marks the first registration of WiMedia-based devices operating above 6 GHz, and provides the groundwork for continued widespread adoption of WiMedia Ultra-Wideband technology worldwide. The announcement of registered PHYs supporting multiple band groups is an important step toward proliferating WiMedia-based products in the global market. WiMedia band groups above 6 GHZ are well-suited for mobile UWB applications. The latest developments in WiMedia-based devices will be showcased later this month at a WiMedia Open House on March 26th at the San Francisco Airport Marriott in Burlingame, California.
The WiMedia Alliance does not specify, mandate or require the use of any particular frequency band or band group in chipsets or end products. Band group support is left solely up to the individual implementer, providing developers with the flexibility to address the needs of particular markets and applications. PHY registration is a pre-requisite to obtaining full Platform Certification, the final stage of the WiMedia Alliance's compliance and interoperability testing for its Ultra-Wideband Common Radio Platform.
"We are very pleased to see our members registering upper-band devices," stated Stephen Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. "Operation in the higher band groups is a key building block for the continued adoption of WiMedia UWB technology into additional markets and applications. The availability of chipsets supporting those bands will increase the use of WiMedia-based solutions for OEMs interested in producing UWB-enabled cell phones and other handheld devices."
The dual-band PHYs announced today came from member companies Alereon, Inc., Intel Corporation and Realtek Semiconductor Corporation. Additionally, Focus Enhancements, Inc. and Samsung Electronics each registered one PHY operating in band group 1. These registrations bring the total number of WiMedia approved PHYs to 21.
WiMedia is an ISO-published radio platform standard for high-speed ultra wideband (UWB) wireless connectivity. With efficient power consumption and high data rates, WiMedia UWB has been selected by the Bluetooth SIG and the USB Implementers Forum as the foundation radio of their high-speed wireless specifications for use in next generation consumer electronics, mobile and computer applications.
IMS Research’s Wireless Group offers an extensive portfolio of wireless related research, including its Worldwide market for Bluetooth, Wireless Technologies –Competitive or Complementary?, The Wireless Car, Bluetooth Tracking Service and various Global User Surveys. In addition, the Wireless Group undertakes research into many other wireless communication markets. It produces reports on cellular traffic and ARPUs, licensed and unlicensed mobile radio, TV-over-Cellular, the Push-to-Talk market, etc. IMS Research analysts are frequently called upon to speak on wireless related topics and provide comments for industry publications can also provide custom research and consultancy to clients.
