UWB: Broadband Bluetooth

OFCOM (UK regulator) has given the go ahead for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) to be used within the UK, they have deregulating the required radio waves so a license is no longer required to use them. The next step is for Europe to agree the UWB standards which will take a few months, but I understand manufacturers are already developing UWB devices.

UWB uses part of the radio spectrum to transfer large amounts of data, such as media files, over short distances, so it's a kind of broadband Bluetooth. For example in the home UWB can be used for the wireless sending HD video data from a HD Camcorder to a HD TV, or MP3s could be streamed to wireless speakers . As you can imagine there are plenty of data transfer possibilities with this technology.

They say UWB will have a range of around 10 metres; however they said that about Bluetooth when that first came out. We'll have to wait and see the security aspects and security challenges this new technology will bring, but I imagine it will be same type of issues we see with WiFi and Bluetooth.

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