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Broadband & Mobile Featured Article
May 19, 2008
Wireless USB Emerging as Short-Range Data Communications Technology
By Brendan B. Read Senior Contributing Editor
Wireless USB, based on the WiMedia Alliance's (News - Alert) Ultrawideband (UWB
) common radio platform, is becoming a very attractive emerging technology because it could satisfy mobile device users’ power efficiency and data rate demands, according to a new analysis by Frost and Sullivan.
Already wireless USB is gradually being implemented in game controllers, digital cameras, portable media players and laptops. The Bluetooth Special Interest Group has announced that the next version of Bluetooth would be based on WiMedia's UWB common radio platform.
The technology, which is being promoted by USB Implementers Forum, can transmit data up to 480 Mbps at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbps at up to 10 meters.
UWB’s appeal to mobile device manufacturers, says Frost and Sullivan, is that it has the potential of efficient power consumption. Current-generation wireless technologies are not suitable for sharing multimedia content due to their power and data rate limitations. This has created a need for a wireless technology that permit high data transmission rates while consuming little power
"Existing wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are not suitable for transferring large files as they can drain the battery at a rapid pace," says Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) Technical Insights Research Analyst Achyuthanandan S. "UWB, on the other hand, is popular for its low power consumption and is slowly becoming the technology of choice for enabling the convergence of the disparate segments of data, entertainment, and mobile communications."
However, for UWB to make inroads into small-sized mobile devices segments, the chipsets must be extremely small in size and volume. This is a key challenge that will determine the future of the technology in mobile devices, barring laptops and notebook PCs. While UWB uses extremely little power, its energy efficiency is yet to be proved in mobile devices.
"Mobile device manufacturers are looking at average power consumption levels of one milliwatt/Mb when the device is active and zero power consumption when the device is in standby," notes Frost & Sullivan Technical Insights Industry Analyst Venkat Malleypula. "Such targets are yet to be achieved by UWB-based mobile devices and only a proven solution can convince people to shift to UWB-based mobile devices."
Brendan B (News - Alert). Read is a TMCnet Senior Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Fixed Service Strategies for Mobile Network Operators, brought to you by Comverse (News - Alert).
) common radio platform, is becoming a very attractive emerging technology because it could satisfy mobile device users’ power efficiency and data rate demands, according to a new analysis by Frost and Sullivan.
Already wireless USB is gradually being implemented in game controllers, digital cameras, portable media players and laptops. The Bluetooth
Special Interest Group has announced that the next version of Bluetooth would be based on WiMedia's UWB common radio platform.The technology, which is being promoted by USB Implementers Forum, can transmit data up to 480 Mbps at distances up to 3 meters and 110 Mbps at up to 10 meters.
UWB’s appeal to mobile device manufacturers, says Frost and Sullivan, is that it has the potential of efficient power consumption. Current-generation wireless technologies are not suitable for sharing multimedia content due to their power and data rate limitations. This has created a need for a wireless technology that permit high data transmission rates while consuming little power
"Existing wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi
and Bluetooth are not suitable for transferring large files as they can drain the battery at a rapid pace," says Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) Technical Insights Research Analyst Achyuthanandan S. "UWB, on the other hand, is popular for its low power consumption and is slowly becoming the technology of choice for enabling the convergence of the disparate segments of data, entertainment, and mobile communications."However, for UWB to make inroads into small-sized mobile devices segments, the chipsets must be extremely small in size and volume. This is a key challenge that will determine the future of the technology in mobile devices, barring laptops and notebook PCs. While UWB uses extremely little power, its energy efficiency is yet to be proved in mobile devices.
"Mobile device manufacturers are looking at average power consumption levels of one milliwatt/Mb when the device is active and zero power consumption when the device is in standby," notes Frost & Sullivan Technical Insights Industry Analyst Venkat Malleypula. "Such targets are yet to be achieved by UWB-based mobile devices and only a proven solution can convince people to shift to UWB-based mobile devices."
Brendan B (News - Alert). Read is a TMCnet Senior Contributing Editor.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP
Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users. Today’s featured white paper is Fixed Service Strategies for Mobile Network Operators, brought to you by Comverse (News - Alert).
