Siemens looks to UWB for broadband video

IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is no good if it can’t get from the broadband router to the TV, so a Siemens AG division is going to use high-bandwidth wireless technology in gear that carriers will distribute to their subscribers.

Siemens Home and Office Communications Devices LLC, a U.S. unit of the German conglomerate, is one of six companies that Tzero Technologies Inc. said Monday will use Tzero technology for new products. Tzero, a fabless semiconductor company in Sunnyvale, California, specializes in UWB (ultrawideband), which can take advantage of a wide range of radio frequencies for fast delivery of data. The systems will consist of boxes that wirelessly distribute multimedia content from a broadband connection and receivers that will be attached to TVs or other consumer electronics systems.

Service providers are looking to IP for sending high-definition TV and other multimedia streams, though commercial use of such networks is just starting to get off the ground. They envision being able to send more than one channel at a time, but over just one connection to the home. Getting that content to several TVs is a bigger challenge than letting three people surf the Web over the same connection, because delivery has to be smooth. Doing it without wires can save the service provider a trip to the subscriber’s home, according to Tzero.

While competitors such as Ruckus Wireless Inc. are using enhanced wireless LAN gear to solve the problem, Tzero says UWB is better equipped for it. The technology, based on U.S. military research, sparked a heated standards battle. But an industry group backed by several major consumer electronics vendors, called the WiMedia Alliance, says it will approve products and ensure interoperability.

Wider radio channels help UWB deliver higher speed than Wi-Fi: The upcoming IEEE 802.11n standard promises more than 100M bps (bits per second), but UWB will offer as much as 480M bps, according to the WiMedia Alliance.

Ultimately, UWB will be built into TVs and other consumer electronics, Tzero believes. In the meantime, Tzero will help Siemens and the five other vendors make systems that use separate receiver units plugged into existing entertainment products, said Matt Keowen, senior director of marketing.

One hurdle UWB has yet to clear is international acceptance, which could affect the economies of scale that would drive its price down. The U.S. has approved its use, but other countries are at various stages of evaluating it, said Rajeev Krishnamoorthy, Tzero’s founder and chief technology officer. They are concerned about whether UWB will interfere with other networks, but Tzero’s technology includes tools to prevent clashes, he said.

Another obstacle is Wi-Fi, which several vendors are using in early consumer electronics products for the wireless home, said Avi Greengart of Current Analysis Inc. UWB has to prove it’s better for the job than the more entrenched wireless technology, he said.

In any case, adoption of wireless home technology is at a very early stage, he said.

The Siemens division, a maker of home media devices and other products, expects to have prototypes by the end of this year. Tzero also announced deals with Amedia Networks Inc., Complete Media Systems Ltd., Entone Technologies Inc., Magnum Semiconductor and UTStarcom Inc. It expects all those vendors to come out with their products in the first quarter of next year, Keowen said.