Freescale gets in first with UWB

Intel is facing competition in Ultra wideband (UWB), a short-range fast radio technology it has been heavily promoting.

Freescale Semiconductor, the former chipmaking arm of Motorola, has developed a chipset for high-definition TV signals to be sent from a set-top box to a TV without wires.

The company has teamed up with Chinese manufacturer Haier to use the technology in a 37in LCD TV paired with a digital media server that can be placed up to about 60ft away. Freescale’s version of UWB can transfer data at 110Mbits/sec over distances of up to 65ft, the company says.

Attempts at agreeing a UWB standard foundered when the industry split into two camps. Intel has been promoting one version as part of the Wimedia Alliance.

It has the widest industry support but Freescale is regarded as being ahead in its development.

However the Intel-backed system is faster. Prototype ‘wireless USB2’ systems, using UWB instead of a physical link, have swapped data at up to 480Mbits/sec.