WiMedia Alliance MB-OFDM UWB Platform in Review by Global Standards Body; WiMedia and Ecma to Promote UWB Standardization.

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- The WiMedia Alliance today announced that it is now working with Ecma International to establish the WiMedia multiband orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MB-OFDM) ultra-wideband (UWB) radio platform as the global UWB standard.

As the UWB industry organization representing many of the world's leading high-tech brands, WiMedia is responsible for rapidly achieving international standardization. The group is also working diligently to ensure that the industry does not become fragmented by independent regional standards or proprietary implementations that prevent global interoperability. Such an environment could delay the worldwide market adoption of UWB products.

Accordingly, WiMedia is pursuing standardization of its UWB specification through Ecma International, the organization known for its development of DVD interchange standards, scripting languages and other information, communications technology, and consumer electronics standards. Establishing a single, global, interoperable standard for UWB is absolutely necessary to deliver to consumers the desired experience -- the ability to choose wireless personal area network (WPAN) devices regardless of brand or manufacturer that quickly store, transfer and play multimedia files and data. WiMedia's low-cost, low-power solution supports a data rate of 480 Mb/s and beyond, delivering on the consumer's expectations and the industry's demands.

"We are very pleased to be working with Ecma, who make it possible to quickly complete the process of establishing a recognized international standard by the end of this year, which corresponds to UWB product launches," said Stephen R. Wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance. "We're extremely encouraged by the efficiency and maturity of the Ecma standard process, which balances quality with timeliness in standards drafting and publication."

"Ecma is committed to global interoperability of high speed Wireless Personal Area Network technology, using our A-liaison with ISO/IEC JTC 1, following Ecma approval later this year," said Jan van den Beld, Secretary General of Ecma International. "Toward that end, we carefully consider specifications and provide hands-on guidance with the industry's UWB experts."

About Ecma International

Since its inception in 1961, Ecma International (Ecma) is developing standards for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Consumer Electronics (CE). Ecma is a non-profit industry association of technology developers, vendors and users. Industry and other experts work together at Ecma to complete standards. Ecma submits the approved work for approval as ISO, ISO/IEC and ETSI standards and is the inventor and main practitioner of "fast tracking" of specifications through the standardization process in global standards bodies such as the ISO. 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 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 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.