UWB's superior characteristics will threaten existing radio frequency technologies such as Bluetooth and even Wi-Fi and cause transformational developments in the wireless industry, according to On World. UWB will be used to produce low powered, non-interfering, cheap and simple radios that promote the convergence of mobile communications, PC and consumer electronics industries -- regardless of the standard.
ON World reports that although Bluetooth chipsets shipments have finally reached mass volume levels, ultra wideband will ultimately steal Bluetooth's thunder.
When the FCC opened up UWB for commercial markets, there was much lobbying by UWB opponents who were concerned that it would interfere with existing radio technologies such as air traffic controllers and cell phones. Hatler says that these fears culminated in the spreading of misinformation about the technology that have dampened enthusiasm and slowed development.
With dozens of established PC and consumer electronics companies interested in the technology and only a handful of UWB developers so far, ultra wideband presents much opportunity for new entrants. Conversely, it also challenges the Bluetooth incumbents who soon will have to contend with yet another technology that will be potentially cheaper, lower power, more conducive to integration and produce much higher data transmission rates.
ON World says that in the near term Bluetooth and UWB will not be competitive because they will be targeted at different markets. Bluetooth will continue to be targeted at applications where power consumption is the major consideration such as in headsets, handsets and automotive telematics. Because data rate and power consumption tend to have an inverse relationship, UWB chipsets will first appear in flat panel displays, digital televisions, PC oriented dongles, printers and digital/audio receivers where ultra low power consumption is not a consideration.
Long term, however, there is no reason why UWB cannot be used for a range of applications including devices with small form factors and very low power requirements. UWB's unique characteristics make it appropriate for the in-progress Zigbee wireless sensor networking and the next-generations of the Bluetooth. Contrary to the opponents' original arguments and much hasty media coverage, Hatler notes that UWB is unlikely to interfere with other radio frequency technologies while being quite robust from interference from other technologies.
This leads to perhaps the biggest misconception of all about UWB: It is a physical layer technology that theoretically can replace the physical layers of existing standards. For example, the current "UWB standard" is actually an alternative PHY implementation of the IEEE's 802.15.3 existing high data rate wireless PAN standard. So, while UWB IS a threat to existing standards, it is also an opportunity for forward-thinking chipset developers. Due to its excellent power consumption and data rate tradeoff ratios, UWB is likely to be used in the next generation or two of Bluetooth.
Assuming UWB quickly becomes widespread for multimedia streaming applications between PCs and consumer electronics and starts overlapping with Bluetooth's existing markets, it could also be used, at least as an alternative standard, for future generations of Wi-Fi. The IEEE 802.11n is targeted to reach data transmissions of up to 300 Mbps over at least a 100 foot range and many people believe UWB is the only physical layer technology that can achieve this.
Risking the ills of hype, ON World believes that UWB's superior characteristics will threaten existing radio frequency technologies and cause transformational developments in the wireless industry. UWB will be used to produce low powered, non-interfering, cheap and simple radios that promote the convergence of mobile communications with PC and consumer electronics industries-- regardless of the standard.