January 5, 2010

WiMedia Alliance Introduces Upgraded Ultrawideband Specification

The WiMedia Alliance (WMA) announced the availability of Version 1.5 of the WiMedia Common Radio Platform Specification. The primary upgrade in Version 1.5 increases the technology speed to 1024Mbps from the current 480Mbps targeting streaming video and other applications requiring gigabit level performance. In addition, the Alliance has announced that for 2010 they will focus on generating specifications specifically targeted at streaming video platforms.

Currently the WMA radio platform provides the underlying technology for Wireless USB from the USB-IF and is implemented in a number of office type applications such as wireless docking stations, hard drives and projectors. In addition, there are a number of introduced products that provide the technology for streaming video from a laptop to HDTVs. Future planned implementation will include set-top boxes, network players and wireless IP-based applications.

Version 1.5 of the specification is backwards compatible to the current revision 1.0 and again meets worldwide regulatory requirements. Advantages of the WMA Common Radio Platform versus other wireless technologies include requiring the least amount of energy per GB transferred, predictable performance and a low cost of implementation. In addition, current WiMedia solutions have been shipping for over 2 years in the market, making it a mature reliable solution for vendors looking at high speed wireless technologies to deploy in 2010 in volume production.

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