The last dot-com boom was all about getting wired. The next boom will get everyone unwired. And that’s a good thing.
The electronics industry generates thousands of ideas, hundreds of projects, and dozens of new devices in any given year. Samsung wants a flat-screen high-definition (HD) television in every home. Microsoft would like to see an Xbox 360 connected to the TV. HP wants to have its printers connected to every new Dell being sold.
And electric supply companies want to sell you all the Cat-5 cable you’ll need to make the vision of a fully-wired home a reality.
A recent article appearing in a computer magazine offered lots of instruction on wiring the home. From cables to tools to templates needed to cut the proper openings in walls, the article will have you drilling and sawing all over your home.
And that approach may appeal to a lot of people, especially those who like to get their hands dirty while playing with power tools. A properly cabled home delivers on the promise of a true broadband experience in every room.
But what if you’re one of those who find little appeal in carving holes in walls and running miles of cable through crawlspaces? Maybe you’ve spent a lifetime with the stories of legendary science fiction writers, and you think someone should deliver on the promises of thousands of possible futures.
Or maybe you’ve watched your Star Trek:TNG collection one time too many.
Consumers have a desire to bring new purchases home, and have them work properly. Manufacturers make hundreds of new electronic products, designed to operate with other goods. As long as they’ve been wired together properly, of course.
Hubs, switches, and routers used to be found exclusively in IT wiring closets. Now, to fulfill the dream of a wired home, some of these devices have to end up in a consumer’s shopping cart. With so many advances in technology, many people have to be looking at their power tools and asking why.
The next technology boom will be the one that makes a lot of cable needs go away. It will mean someone purchases a new digital TV, maybe a super-thin one using Motorola’s carbon nanotube technology, hangs it up on a wall, and has it connect to a DVD player, a gaming console, and a satellite receiver. And does so without doing any cabling beyond plugging the TV into a power outlet.
The promise rests with the developing wireless communication standard called Ultra-Wideband (UWB), and the ability of Silicon Valley to implement it at the semiconductor level.
Most people who have more than a passing interest in technology know or use WiFi capable devices. But WiFi is limited in bandwidth, and that has an impact.
Richard Sekar is the vice president of marketing for TZero Technologies. His company, founded by a veteran of the legendary Bell Labs and its WiFi development, is building a wireless chipset that could free consumer electronics from the wired world.
I talked with Mr. Sekar, a well-spoken gentleman and veteran of Very-High-Data-Rate DSL work, about his company as well as UWB in general.
“UWB is very exciting because customers understand the key advantage of having wireless in their homes,” said Mr. Sekar. He further discussed the shortcomings of WiFi: “What has been missing to date is the experiencein other words, they were able to achieve the freedom of mobility, but they don’t get the same experience they get with a wired connection.
“802.11 is more data-centric, no guaranteed bandwidth even though 802.11e has prioritized traffic; but there’s a big difference between guaranteeing bandwidth and prioritizing traffic.”
TZero has embraced the UWB standard put forth by the WiMedia Alliance and the Multiband OFDM Alliance Special Interest Group. UWB, a radio technology occupying the 3.1 to 10.6 GHz bands, offers a throughput of 480 Mbps. That speed can deliver multimedia applications seamlessly.
While TZero and other companies work hard to get their chipsets in production (TZero hopes to have their chipset out by late 2005), they’re working more aggressively on getting agreements with vendors to use those chips.
“We are working very closely with several vendors, so we are very well plugged-in into the market,” Mr. Sekar observed.
UWB has potential in several markets, not only consumer electronics, but the PC and peripheral market and the handheld market too. Mr. Sekar sees the consumer market as “the most important one, in terms of adoption.” The presence of a UWB chipset in home electronics will drive implementation of it in the other markets.
Competition from other startups will occur, and advances in technology will drive prices down. And that competition may come from established players too; witness Intel and its success with the Centrino line. How does TZero feel about the biggest dog on the semiconductor porch?
“We are dedicated to doing that (wireless chipsets), it’s not just one of the 100, 200 products; this is our lifeblood. There’s definitely stiff competition, that’s the way life is.”
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
