MultiBand OFDM Alliance Speakers to Map Vision of UWB at Ultrawidband World 2004.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Event Comes on Heels of Successful IEEE Meeting in Berlin with Standards Momentum Now Favoring the MBOA Proposal

The burgeoning ultrawideband (UWB) markets and the new applications that UWB will enable will be the focus of various sessions presented by leaders of the MultiBand OFDM Alliance (MBOA), at Ultrawideband World 2004 to be held in San Jose, Calif., September 28-29. The MBOA is an industry organization dedicated to developing technical specifications for very high-speed, short-range UWB wireless communications. Spokespersons will include representatives from Alereon, General Atomics, Hewlett Packard, Philips, Texas Instruments, Sharp Laboratories, ST Microelectronics, Staccato Communications, TDK R&D, and Wisair.

Timing of the two-day conference is fortuitous as many of these MBOA members recently attended an IEEE meeting in Berlin in which MBOA technology was once again chosen at the proposal favored by the IEEE 802.15.3a standards committee, which is tasked with approving ultrawideband specifications for the IEEE.

"The rising tide of support for the MBOA approach was voiced by a majority of the IEEE ultrawideband standards committee members during the recent meeting in Berlin," said Mike Kelly, VP of Marketing, Semiconductor Group, FOCUS Enhancements, founding member of the MBOA and a strong proponent of video-centric UWB applications. Among the presenters expressing support for the MBOA proposal was Nokia, explaining their preference for MB-OFDM in mobile handsets due to the greater ability to suppress out-of-band emissions over competing technology proposals. Presentations were also made by several UWB silicon companies who have silicon today. HP, Intel, Philips, Samsung, Sony, TI, and many other MBOA supporters also expressed their strong support for the MBOA approach and their concerns over the significant short-comings of other approaches.

"With MBOA ultrawideband now clearly becoming the industry standard for ultrawideband, Ultrawideband World will be a great showcase for the technology because many of the industry leading companies will reveal their latest advancements and present their visions for this exciting new technology," said Roberto Aiello, CEO of Staccato Communications, and keynote speaker of Ultrawideband World 2004.

The conference, for example, will include presentations and panel discussions comparing all-CMOS vs. SiGe semiconductor solutions for 480Mbps wireless USB and 400Mbps wireless 1394.

Some of the presenting companies have already demonstrated interoperability (the ability of products from different companies to communicate with each other), indicating a time-to-market advantage over competing proposals. NEC Electronics, Texas Instruments, Intel Corporation and Wisair performed the first public multi-vendor interoperability demonstration of the Wireless USB and MBOA ultrawideband (UWB) specifications at the Intel Developer Forum held in San Francisco earlier this month.

Information on Ultrawideband World 2004 can be seen at www.iqpc.com/cgi-bin/templates/genevent.html?event=5223&topic=233.

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 SIG (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.