Swimming against the wireless tide

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

ANALYSIS
PulseLink is now working with ultrawideband (UWB), a method of delivering information without wires that was approved for commercial use in February by the Federal Communications Commission. On Friday, PulseLink filed the last of more than a hundred patents for a development that lets UWB work over the wired television networks used by cable TV operators. Those familiar with PulseLink say the company might be the first ever to make a wireless delivery technique work in the closed environment like a wire or fiber-optic cable. Analysts say the technology has potential -- especially for the television industry, which needs to find more bandwidth in its networks in order to meet a 2005 federal mandate to begin broadcasting bandwidth-sucking HDTV signals. "It'll get more bang for your buck out of the existing cable band," said David Hoover, an analyst with investor-side research company Precursor Group. UWB, one of the newest wireless technologies for commercial businesses, works differently than other wireless technologies. Traditional wireless devices use radio waves to deliver telephone calls, e-mails or a Web page. The waves are assigned small areas of spectrum -- typically 6MHz -- to travel through on their way to a cell phone, laptop or PDA (personal digital assistant). UWB, on the other hand, delivers the same services by using low-powered pulses that spread over hundreds of megahertz of bandwidth. UWB pulses do not create unruly interference with other waves, though, because they are so low-power, said PulseLink founder John Santhoff. Over wires, it will create a "ghost network" capable of delivering as much as 1 gigabit of information over bandwidth that most wired network operators haven't been able to use, he said. "It's like sub-zero second Morse Code," Santhoff said. "We're creating a ghost network on top of the old network that doesn't interfere with it and doesn't interact with it. If you don't have our equipment, you can't see the communications there." Santhoff said the company has so far only created a miniature version of a cable TV network it made using UWB in its labs. The company has yet to perform a public demonstration, though. Military roots
On Feb. 14, the FCC gave the go ahead for commercial use of UWB. The lobbying and wrangling prior to the FCC's nod mostly involved the U.S. military. The government had developed the technology and was the first to use it "because of its covert nature," Santhoff said. The government and mobile phone carriers say the signals are so powerful they could cause disruptive interference to their wireless operations. The FCC took the complaints into account. And, to avoid the spectrum used by the military and companies, the commission set limits on the radio frequencies that UWB can broadcast in. Device makers working with UWB are now using it as a way to wirelessly connect computers, televisions, laptops, DVD players and other devices that are located a few feet from each other, said Rajeev Chand, senior equity research analyst, with Rutberg & Co., a San Francisco-based investment bank. Chand said it's likely UWB will stay wireless in the near future. "We continue to believe near-term applications for UWB are in the consumer-electronics devices," he said.
Have your say instantly in the Tech Update forum. Find out what's where in the new Tech Update with our Guided Tour. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

7 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

36 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

41 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 hour ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

2 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?
BugStalker

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

2 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB
whs001

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

2 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Moley

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

2 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
45283

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

5 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA
Burn-IT

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs
ewallace

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions
fgvrg56

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

8 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?
Ben Woods

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

9 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
Marcus Karlsson

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

10 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule
apexwm

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

18 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
txtrainguy

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility
k0tcs3

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack
Random_Error

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Paul Fezziwig

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store
Aigars Mahinovs

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission