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That's the tack that the Multiband-OFDM
Alliance (MBOA) is taking, at least. The group,
which is comprised of more than 50 companies including
Texas Instruments, Intel and Samsung Electronics, announced
Tuesday that it will establish a formal Special Interest
Group (SIG) to promote ultrawideband (UWB) technology.
Progress on a UWB standard within the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has essentially
come to a standstill. The MBOA's proposal for the 802.15.3a
standard has garnered the majority of the vote at the
last several meetings, including one earlier this month
in Vancouver, British Columbia, but can't muster the
necessary 75 percent to move forward. MBOA members have
accused Motorola, which backs a rival proposal based
on direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA)
technology, of trying to block the confirmation.
"They're trying to take a proprietary solution to market
and attempting to block a standard," says Jeff Ross,
executive vice president of Alereon, an MBOA member.
"It's a game that everybody has figured out."
Both sides have said they will move forward independently
of the IEEE. Motorola plans to start production on its
UWB chipset (acquired from XtremeSpectrum) this quarter,
and expects to see consumer electronics devices using
its chip by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, the MBOA says it will create an official
SIG by the end of the first quarter, and will publish
its 1.0 UWB standard in May. The group hopes to see
products based on its technology by the second quarter
of 2005.
This won't be the first time a group has circumvented
the IEEE to attempt to establish an industry standard.
Ross points to Bluetooth and USB as examples. "These
things were all done in special interest groups outside
and eventually ratified as an industry-wide standard."
The MBOA says it will continue to work inside the IEEE
to push for its standard as well. "We're not abandoning
the IEEE," insists Jason Ellis, manager of marketing
and business development at MBOA member Staccato Communications.
"At the right time, things in the IEEE will proceed
again."
In a press conference in Tokyo, the group said it would
offer the MBOA specification to the IEEE "once the blockage
is cleared," in the hopes that the IEEE would complete
the spec and publish it as 802.15.3a.
If, however, "the IEEE isn't in a position to take
it back," says Ellis, the MBOA would consider handing
off the spec to another entity, such as the WiMedia
Alliance, the group expected to eventually certify
UWB products, much as the Wi-Fi Alliance does for 802.11
gear. The organization promises in its mission statement
to "define, establish and support one or more specifications
... for wireless multimedia connectivity and ... provide
a neutral forum for enhancement and augmentation of
the standards."
The hope is that the WiMedia Alliance will eventually
certify products based on the MBOA standard, with or
without the IEEE stamp of approval. The MBOA already
has a strong presence in WiMedia, and sources suggest
that Intel and TI will soon join that Alliance, too.
In the meantime, the MBOA says its new status as an
SIG will allow it to formalize by-laws, membership rules
and voting procedures, and to ensure zero-royalty cross-licensing
terms. The move also lends some legitimacy to the group's
specification, says Ellis. "Instead of it being a de
facto standard, [it will be] an industry standard."
MBOA-based silicon is expected to be available by the
fourth quarter, with integrated modules to follow in
the first quarter of 2005.
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