Bluetooth SIG chooses WiMedia Alliance for UWB

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that it has selected WiMedia Alliance to work with on the implementation of the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) high-speed data technology. This new version of the Bluetooth wireless technology, which will use the Wi-Media Alliance's MB-OFDM( multiband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) version of ultra-wideband, will enable data transmission rate of up to 100 megabits per second as well as the handling of such data intensive applications as high quality video and audio. Bluetooth SIG and WiMedia Alliance have decided the new version to operate in the unlicensed spectrum above 6 GHz, unlike the current Bluetooth technology, which operates in the 2.4GHz. At the same time the two groups have stated that they will work together to ensure backwards compatibility of the new version with the current Bluetooth profiles. Bluetooth SIG plans to have the initial specification completed in about a year and expects the first prototype chip to be available in Q2 2007.

Source: Bluetooth SIG