Microwave Journal
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Ultra-wideband Beginning to Take Off

February 19, 2008

The market for ultra-wideband (UWB) silicon is finally beginning to take off, reports In-Stat. Though regulatory hurdles over UWB still persist worldwide, the first UWB-enabled notebook PCs have shipped this year from Dell, Lenovo and Toshiba, the market research firm says.


“The primary question for UWB now is: Will other product segments follow where PCs lead?,” says Brian O’Rourke, In-Stat analyst. “UWB is a very flexible technology in that it supports multiple standards, including WUSB, Bluetooth 3.0, IP over UWB and Video over UWB. This should enable the technology to gain design wins in a wide range of product segments, including PC peripherals, Consumer Electronics (CE) and mobile phones.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• UWB-enabled notebook PCs hit the market in mid-2007. PC peripherals will follow in 2008.

• CE and communications applications with UWB will not hit the market in volume until 2010.

• In 2011, over 400 million UWB-enabled devices will ship.

The research, “Ultra-wideband 2007: PCs Finally Hit the Global Market,” covers the worldwide market for ultra-wideband. It contains analysis and annual shipment forecasts through 2011 for the penetration of UWB into 26 separate applications within the following product segments: PC, PC peripheral, CE, Communications and Industrial/Medical. The forecast for UWB into each application is broken down by WiMedia UWB and proprietary UWB penetration. Profiles of leading UWB chip vendors and IP suppliers are included. In addition to the report, O’Rourke and other In-Stat analysts provide consulting services on a variety of technical and market topics regarding the semiconductor and electronics industries.

This research is part of In-Stat’s Multimedia & Interface Technologies service, which identifies and forecasts the markets for key interface technologies and multimedia semiconductors and tracks penetration of these technologies into PCs, PC peripherals, consumer electronics and communications applications. It also examines competitors, industry agendas, market shares, technology platforms, semiconductor technology and shipments. Supply and demand-side insights are combined to examine these dynamic, evolving technologies.