MBOA Legal Entity Will Enable Rapid Adoption of Specifications and Ultimately Assure Standards-Based Interoperability and Availability of Ultrawideband Products
SAN FRANCISCO, California - September 1, 2004 -PRNewswire - The MultiBand OFDM Alliance (MBOA), an industry organization dedicated to developing technical specifications for very high-speed, short-range ultrawideband (UWB) wireless communications, will announce during a press conference next week at the Intel Developers Forum that it has established the MultiBand OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group (MBOA-SIG), as well as discuss a roadmap for the group's specifications. The MBOA-SIG Promoter companies include Alereon, Hewlett Packard, Intel Corporation, Nokia, Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics (SAIT), Staccato Communications, Sony, Texas Instruments and Wisair. As a legal entity, the MBOA will publish and manage the industry-supported ultrawideband specifications for rapid adoption by the consumer electronics, personal computing and mobile industries. Concurrently, the MBOA will announce that its specifications for a physical layer ("PHY") are complete and that specifications for the Media Access Control layer ("MAC"), designed to enhance mobility for personal electronic devices, are progressing quickly with completion expected by end of year. Upon completion, the specifications will be made available to member companies.
Broad Industry Support
"Our membership of more than 170 companies includes the leading semiconductor, personal computing, mobile phone and consumer electronics companies," said Stephen Wood, UWB strategist at Intel and MBOA co-founder. "We have established relations with Wireless USB Promoters Group and the WiMedia Alliance to provide the PHY and MAC layers to them, and we expect more to follow. What this means for MBOA-SIG companies is that they will be able provide standards-based, high-speed UWB products that will replace the rats' nests of wires that fill their customers' homes and desktops." MBOA member companies are actively engaged with the IEEE standards process and hope to eventually have the IEEE manage these specifications.
MBOA: A Common Radio Platform
The MBOA MAC and PHY specifications, adopted by the WiMedia Alliance and the Wireless USB Promoters Group, will serve as the common radio platform for those industry standards. The MBOA specifications are becoming the basis for Wireless USB applications, adding wireless connectivity to the large installed base of USB products. The MBOA and WiMedia Alliance are also working closely with the 1394 Trade Association.
"Wireless USB, the first major application for UWB, will use the MBOA's common radio platform, based on TI's original multiband OFDM proposal," said Yoram Solomon, general manager of consumer connectivity solutions for Texas Instruments and MBOA co-founder. "Using UWB, we have the ability to replace frequently used connections and synchronize or stream information between devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, PCs and printers. And using the MBOA's common radio platform, we can ensure co-existence and interoperability among multiple wirelessly connected devices."
MBOA specifications
The popularity of the MBOA specifications and their adoption as the standard by these organizations is due to several advantages it provides over other approaches:
* Spectral flexibility: The MBOA will be able to ship a single solution worldwide because MB-OFDM can dynamically shape the spectrum via software controls.
* Ability to be built in CMOS: MB-OFDM technology was designed specifically to be built in low-cost CMOS semiconductor processes. An all-CMOS solution means that MB-OFDM will be much easier to integrate into a single-chip solution, as well as providing quick designs times and lower costs.
* NBI management: MB-OFDM can handle narrowband interference (NBI) completely in the digital domain with very simple and low power techniques.
* Control of OOB emissions: Since the MB-OFDM solution is a digital solution, the out-of-band (OOB) emissions are much more easily controlled, guaranteeing coexistence with many different services.
"The industry supports MBOA as the standard for UWB," said Roberto Aiello, president and CEO, Staccato Communications and MBOA co-founder. "MBOA will release standards that have been peer-reviewed by more than 170 companies - companies who build all types of wireless products and sell these products in the CE, PC and mobile spaces. With the availability of MBOA's 1.0 specs, products already compliant with these standards are just around the corner." The MBOA-SIG is managed by VTM, a global marketing, communications and consulting company that manages industry standards organizations including the USB-IF, PCI-SIG, Digital Living Network Alliance, Digital Content Protection LLC, Digital Displays Working Group, UPnP Forum and others.
About UWB
Ultrawideband (UWB) is a wireless communications technology that operates in a newly allocated unlicensed spectrum. Advantages of UWB include low power consumption, very low cost/complexity yet high data rates (up to 480Mbps) and throughput, and precision location capability. The specifications for UWB target emerging wireless personal area network (WPAN) communications. WPAN technology enables high-speed, short-range, cable-free connectivity for a wide array of multimedia consumer electronics, PC peripherals and mobile devices, including wireless USB and wireless 1394.
About the MultiBand OFDM Alliance (MBOA)
The MultiBand OFDM Alliance (http://www.multibandofdm.org) is dedicated to delivering the best overall solution for UWB with maximum emphasis on peaceful coexistence with other wireless services and to provide the most benefits to the broadest number of end consumers. MBOA was formed in June 2003 and now numbers more than 170 member companies. MBOA members include many of the most influential players in the consumer electronics, personal computing, home entertainment, mobile phone, semiconductor and digital imaging spaces. Collectively, these companies retain much of the world's expertise and experience in designing and building systems and silicon based upon UWB techniques.
The MBOA is working with worldwide regulatory agencies to promote and seek specific approval for MBOA-based devices worldwide. The MBOA has also created a forum for collaboration with and by all UWB ecosystem players including antenna vendors, test and measurement vendors, upper layer protocol applications, and interfaces. Dozens of engineers are active in various MBOA technical subcommittees developing and improving the specification in areas ranging from system definition, MAC, MAC-PHY interface, scalability, regulatory, and ranging.
MBOA members work in harmony with other organizations such as the WiMedia Alliance, Wireless USB Promoters Group, 1394 Trade Association, and the Consumer Electronics Association. MBOA members also remain active in the IEEE, and work with other industry bodies and consortia as appropriate.
SOURCE Texas Instruments
Web Site: http://www.ti.com http://www.multibandofdm.org
