HSINCHU, Taiwan and IRVINE, Calif. – January 3, 2008 - Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 2379.TW), one of the world's largest IC design houses and a market leader in Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology, announced today that it will demonstrate its RTU7105 Wireless USB device solution with Intel(R) Wireless UWB Link 3480 Single-Chip CMOS Wireless USB host solution at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7~10, 2008, providing the industry's first public multi-vendor demonstration of interoperability based entirely on single-chip solutions. The demonstration showcases interoperability in multiple WiMedia band groups, including multiple bands that have received global regulatory approval, and in addition highlights several new WiMedia-based features that add new channels and flexibility in spectrum use. The demonstration will take place in the Intel booth in WiMedia Techzone South Hall #31642.
Wireless USB has been developed to extend the convenience and widespread market penetration of wired USB to wireless operation, enabling wireless connection of PCs and PC peripherals, CE, and mobile devices. Based on ultra-wideband physical layer technology and a Media Access Control layer designed to provide coexistence among multiple personal area networking protocols, Wireless USB from the USB-IF is designed to enable high-data-rate single-antenna very low power consumption communication in an ultra-compact form factor.
The demonstration marks several engineering firsts:
- First public demonstration of Wireless USB interoperability involving single-chip solutions for both host and device
- First interoperability demonstration involving dual-band operation, with support for WiMedia Band Groups 1 & 3, including multiple bands, WiMedia band 3 (4.224~4.752GHz) and band 9 (7.392~7.920GHz), that meet existing worldwide regulatory requirements
- First interoperability demonstration of WiMedia-based modes from the WiMedia PHY 1.1 Spectrum Extensions Release, designed to enhance flexibility of spectrum use
"We are extremely pleased to collaborate with Intel in this demonstration," said Ran Yan, senior vice president of Realtek. "We anticipate that the debut of Intel's single-chip Wireless USB Host solution will be seen as the signal that the market for this technology is about to take off. Realtek is ready to bring an optimized and ultra-compact device solution into all Wireless USB peripherals."
"We are pleased to work with Realtek to show the true potential of Wireless USB," said Jose Avalos, general manager of Intel's Ultra-Wideband Networking Operation. "With compact, single-chip solutions at both ends of the link that are capable of operating worldwide, the stage is set for Wireless USB to take off in 2008."
"The USB-IF is committed to supporting the compliance and certification of products based on Wireless USB," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF president. "We are pleased to see a collaborative single-chip demonstration and believe this type of development will fuel the growth of Wireless USB applications in 2008."
