EU establishes single UWB market

The

has today adopted a decision which outlines the mandatory conditions for using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in next generation wireless devices across the EU.

The decision brings a step closer a single market for consumer electronics such as laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras and televisions that can exchange data wirelessly at very high rates over short distances.

‘By removing the cables that link the electronic devices we use in everyday life, ultra-wideband technology can extend the information society in many areas of society,’ said EU Telecoms and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding.

‘However, to benefit our citizens, it is important that we establish a functioning single market for these devices in the European Union. By adopting a harmonising decision today, the Commission allows innovators to use this new technology throughout the EU, while ensuring no interference takes place with other wireless users.’

UWB devices can transmit data at very high rates by ‘spreading’ the signal over very broad ranges of the radio spectrum. With rates comparable to devices connected by cable, UWB is an attractive technology for the increasingly bandwidth-hungry consumer electronics industry.