Ecma Standardizes UWB

Ecma Standardizes UWB

Ecma Approved the First Standards for UWB - for Short-Range, High-Speed Wireless Communication

GENEVA, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Ecma General Assembly approved the first ultra-wideband (UWB) standards. These standards give wireless personal area network (WPAN) device and component manufacturers the ability to design products to the same specifications, thereby enabling interoperability. UWB technology is intended for high speed, short-range multimedia file transfers. Various consumer devices such as cell phones, computers, digital cameras, digital media servers and high-definition televisions are expected to leverage UWB's capabilities.

PHY and MAC -- ECMA-368 specifies the Physical (PHY) and the Media Access Control (MAC) layers for a decentralized, complex system with controls for high QoS (Quality of Service) and fast device discovery. The radio employs the unlicensed 3.1 to 10.6 GHz UWB spectrum. The standard mandates that devices support at least 53.3, 106.7 and 200 Mb/s to ensure a reasonable consumer experience.

Interconnectivity -- Today, Ecma also approved the companion interface specification as ECMA-369, which enables interconnectivity for separate implementations of the PHY and MAC layers specified in ECMA-368.

Throughout drafting stages of the UWB standards, technology experts from shared WiMedia Alliance and Ecma members contributed to the development. The UWB standards are available via Ecma's and WiMedia Alliance's Web sites.

"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's decision today is a great win for the industry at-large," said Stephen R. Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance and vice-convener of the UWB task group in Ecma. "We appreciate the committee's time and attention paid to the UWB platform proposal as the global UWB device market is well into final stages of development. With Ecma's support, we anticipate seeing that market open wide in the near future with numerous opportunities for manufacturers and consumers."

About Ecma International

Since its inception in 1961, Ecma International (Ecma) has developed standards for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Consumer Electronics (CE). Ecma is a non-profit industry association of technology developers, vendors and users. Experts from industry and other organizations work together at Ecma to develop standards. Ecma submits its work for approval as ISO, IEC, ISO/IEC and ETSI standards and is the inventor and main practitioner of "fast tracking" of specifications through the standardisation process in International Standards Organisations (ISOs) such as the ISO and the IEC. Publications can be downloaded free of charge from http://www.ecma-international.org/ .

About The WiMedia Alliance

The WiMedia Alliance is a not-for-profit open industry association that promotes and enables the rapid adoption, regulation, standardization and multi-vendor interoperability of ultra-wideband (UWB) worldwide. WiMedia-based UWB specifications, that were contributed to Ecma as the bases of ECMA-368, have been architected and optimized for wireless personal-area networks delivering high-speed (480Mbps and beyond), low-power multimedia capabilities for the PC, CE, mobile and automotive market segments. Emphasizing peaceful coexistence with other wireless services, WiMedia's UWB common platform is designed to operate with application stacks developed by the 1394 Trade Association Wireless Working Group, the Certified Wireless USB Promoter Group and the Bluetooth-SIG. WiMedia's board members include Alereon, HP, Intel, Kodak, Microsoft, Nokia, Philips, Samsung Electronics, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Staccato Communications, Texas Instruments and Wisair. For more information, please visit www.wimedia.org.

Source: Ecma International

CONTACT: Industry contact, Jan W. van den Beld, Ecma Secretary-General,
jan@ecma-international.org, or Press contact, Christa Rosatzin-Strobel, Ecma
Media Relations, media@ecma-international.org, both at +41 22 849 6000/01

Web site: http://www.ecma-international.org/
http://www.wimedia.org/

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