High-speed WPAN: Technology and Market Development

This report addresses developing technologies for high-speed (hundreds of Mb/s and up to several Gb/s) WPANs. The analysis allows concentrating on requirements for wireless transmission of HDTV signals and similar applications, where Gb/s speed promises supporting uncompressed exchange information between TV, cameras, DVD and other appliances.

It is envisioned that in the 2008-2009 time frame, broadcasters release more and more frequencies for HDTV, and in several years most of cable systems will be truly HD. At the present time, most HD connections inside of a home or office are wired, and such a situation created complex and expensive cable channels. Wireless WPAN with high- speed of transmission is a subject of our report. Several standard organizations (IEEE 802.15.3c and Ecma) as well as a number of companies are working on standardization of WPAN 60 GHz radio; in parallel, for the same purposes, the industry is working to make IEEE 802.11n and UWB to serve WPANs.

• 60 GHz radio-IEEE 802.15.3c
• IEEE 802.11n, and
• UWB.

It shows that all evolving technologies can be adopted for wireless high-speed PAN. At the same time, at least as it is envisioned today, only 60 GHz radio can support uncompressed HDTV signals communications, which makes this technology development very important (this may include UWB working in the 60 GHz band). The report provides the marketing and technical analysis of all three candidates; it is expected the market will be picking up in the 2008-2009 time frame with further standardization of these technologies.

Considerable research was done using the Internet. Information from various Web sites was studied and analyzed; evaluation of publicly available marketing and technical publications was also conducted. Telephone conversations and interviews were held with industry analysts, technical experts and executives. In addition to these interviews and primary research, secondary sources were used to develop a more complete mosaic of the market landscape, including industry and trade publications, conferences and seminars.

The overriding objective throughout the work has been to provide valid and relevant information. This has led to a continual review and update of the information content.

This report provides the UWB, 802.11n and 60 GHz radio technology and market analysis and assessments. These materials are useful for service providers, vendors, network operators and managers, Enterprise IT staff, investors and end users seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the UWB, 802.11n and 60 GHz radio opportunities and barriers.

For systems vendors, integrators and others, the report provides an analysis and assessment of competing UWB, 802.11n and 60 GHz radio products currently available for the WPAN implementation as well as an estimation of the overall opportunities in the coming years. The end users can gain a more thorough understanding of product' s market and capabilities as well as the economics of using these technologies products to improve cost efficiency.