Microsoft Joins WiMedia-MBOA-SIG Alliance As Promoter Member

San Ramon, CA -- The WiMedia Alliance, recently united with the MultiBand OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group (MBOA-SIG) [see related story], today announced that Microsoft Corp. has joined the organization as a promoter member. Microsoft is the first software company to participate at this level. Representatives from WiMedia-MBOA's 14 promoter members, along with those from the many contributor and adopter companies, are leading the standardization and adoption of ultra wideband (UWB) technology for high-speed wireless, multimedia-capable personal area connectivity.

"Microsoft is committed to supporting leading edge wireless technologies and facilitating rich experiences with wireless devices," said Kosar Jaff, product unit manager in the Windows Division at Microsoft. "With WiMedia Alliance, we are demonstrating our commitment to help the industry develop specification and interoperability programs that ensure best-of-breed wireless experiences with Windows-based PCs."

"Microsoft's participation in WiMedia is a critical step to insure that customers using UWB receive a seamless out-of-box experience," said Stephen R. Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. "Microsoft's participation at the board level will help make sure that our wireless platform remains aligned with the operating system strategy over time. We are very pleased to have them work with us."

UWB is a wireless communications technology that operates in the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz spectrum band. Advantages of UWB include low power consumption, very low cost/complexity with high data rates (capable of exceeding more than 1 Gbps over-the-air) and precision location capability. Targeting emerging wireless personal area network (WPAN) communications, UWB powers high-speed, short-range, cable-free connectivity for a wide array of multimedia consumer electronics, personal computer peripherals and mobile devices.

The WiMedia Alliance plans to release the first version of the MBOA physical (PHY) layer specification in the second quarter of 2005. This release will be followed by a series of specifications and application profiles that rely on the PHY layer. Microsoft's high-level participation further signifies that WiMedia-MBOA's specifications currently in development are at a level of maturity that makes application development possible.

Source: WiMedia Alliance