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Short for ultra-wideband, a technology
for transmitting large amounts of data wirelessly over short distances.
Unlike other wireless technologies such as bluetooth and wi-fi,
which block off specific sections of radio spectrum for their own use,
uwb broadcasts small packets of data over a wide range of
radio frequencies, reassembling them into their original data files at the
receiving end. Uwb has several advantages over its competitors. It
allows data to be transmitted much faster, offering theoretical speeds of up
to 1000mbps, nearly ten times faster than wi-fi. It also uses less
power, making it ideal for use in mobile devices with limited battery life.
Its critics, largely composed of telecoms companies, have voiced concerns
about interference with other devices that use portions of the radio
spectrum, although their complaints have lessened since it became clear that
Uwb might provide a way to generate money from their expensively
acquired radio-spectrum licences. One potential drawback is its short range,
limited to about 30 feet, which makes it much less flexible than wi-fi
for providing ad hoc internet connections through fixed-line networks but
ideal for transferring big files between mp3 payers and computers,
for example. Computer and consumer electronic devices with uwb
capability were expected to appear in late 2003. |
