Ecma Releases UWB Standard Based On WiMedia UWB Radio Platform

San Ramon, CA -- The WiMedia Alliance announced that Ecma International's newly released standard for UWB technology is based on the WiMedia Ultra-Wideband (UWB) Common Radio Platform. Ecma will submit the standard to ISO/IEC JTC 1 for fast track approval.

Shared members of WiMedia Alliance and Ecma submitted the WiMedia UWB platform specifications to Ecma in early 2005. Those specifications were drafted by Alliance members from prominent consumer electronics, mobile device, personal computer and semiconductor companies. Working in Ecma, experts aided in the final completion of the ECMA-368 standard: the physical (PHY) layer the Media Access Control (MAC) layer specifications. Separately, the ECMA-369 standard specifies the MAC-PHY interface.

"We are happy to see the rapid development of the UWB layers after such wireless systems have been studied for a long time," said Jan van den Beld, Secretary-General of Ecma. "Ecma expects that industry will now quickly take advantage of these standards by implementing various low-cost wireless personal area network (WPAN) devices such as wireless USB."

Ecma is the non-profit industry association that pioneered the "fast tracking" of specifications through the standardization process in global standards bodies. The organization is known for its development of the near field communication standard, DVD interchange standards, scripting languages and other information, communications technology, and consumer electronics standards.

Based on Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) technology, the WiMedia UWB platform is optimized for complementary wireless personal area network (WPAN) technologies such as Bluetooth, Certified Wireless USB, Wireless 1394 and Wireless IP. The solution enables short-range multimedia file transfers at data rates of 480Mbps+ with low power consumption, and operates in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz UWB spectrum.

"Our work with Ecma brings us one step closer to finally establishing a single, viable radio that allows manufacturers to create reliable products with differentiating functionality while giving consumers the choice of product brands," said Stephen R. Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. "Products are coming this year. No question. And, WiMedia Alliance diligently works every day to make sure that when those products hit the shelves, they can operate legally and, in turn, meet their potential."

SOURCE: WiMedia Alliance