Since these institutions are not particularly linked to UWB and do researches for general communications, the results of their research can show unbiased forecasts.
Results from ABI Research
According to the ABI Research, UWB should see "very strong growth" starting in 2008, finding its first success in laptops, computer peripherals and eventually in mobile handsets. Forecasts indicate that shipments of UWB-enabled devices will grow from virtually zero today, to more than 400 million in 2013.
Owing to the different challenges facing UWB i discussed in section 6, the UWB market did not come out as anticipated. But the research result shows that the conditions are now ripe for a rapid takeoff. In 2007 only about 40,000 UWB-equipped devices shipped. The research result also forecasts that in 2008, there will be perhaps 1 million, with the curve expected to rise sharply thereafter. Because an official UWB standard has now been ratified in the U.S., North America is expected to lead this market for some time to come.
The current "sweet spot" in this market is UWB's application as a wireless Universal Serial Bus(USB) enabler, connecting computers (specially notebooks) with printers, hard drives and other peripherals. Also UWB modules are just starting to appear in selected laptops (initially from Lenova, Dell and Toshiba) , but true silicon integration will take more time.
According to this same research, real market acceleration will only occur when UWB debuts in mobile handsets, where it will be used- possibly bundled with Bluetooth- to transfer music, pictures and video files. Even a small handset market penetration will deliver huge numbers. For UWB to see wide adoption in handsets, however, the price of the chipset must fall quite significantly.
Research results from In-stat
According to this research, the market for UWB silcon has finally began to take off in 2007. Though regulatory hurdles over UWB still persist worldwide , the first UWB-enabled ntebook PCs have shipped this year from Dell , Levano, and Toshiba.
UWB is a very flexible technology in that it supports multiple standards, including WUSB , Bleutooth 3.0 , IP over UWB , and Video over UWB. This should enable the technology to gain design wins in a wide range of product segments , including PC peripherals, Consumer Electronics (CE) , and mobile phones.
Recent Research by In-Stat found the following:
- UWB-enabled notebook PCs hit the market in mid-2007. PC peripherals will follow in this year (2008)
- CE and communications applications with UWB won't hit the market in volume until 2010.
- In 2011, over 400 million UWB-enabled devices will ship.
Finally, let me give some of the comments made by the Stephen wood, president of the WiMedia Alliance, on their current and future strategy.
The first phase of UWB products focuses on getting the technology in to market. That is why the first products are dongles, hubs and laptops. The next phase will bring lower prices and broader market opportunities as a 2-chip UWB solution is replaced with 1-chip silicon. In the next two years the Alliance predicts the price of UWB chips will drop from the current $15 to about $ 4 to $5 , a price point that makes UWB attractive to a wide range of manufacturers, including handset OEMs.
As the market develops, UWB will take two different paths in the kind of products it will be in. One will be for high throughput, with a next-generation solution powering data rates of 1 Gbps or even two to five times that. Those rates will support high definition video and large file transfer. The second path will be low power for use in mobile and battery-powered devices
References: (these are the list of references used in this blog )
- www.WiMedia.org
- www.uwbforum.org
- www.wirelessweek.com
- www.radio-electronics.com
- www.intel.com/technology/ultrawideband/downloads/ultra-wideband.pdf
- www.wsdmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/17881/17881.html
- www.in-stat.com
- www.ABIresearch.com
- www.ultrawidebandplanet.com
- Modern Wireless communication by Simon Hykin and Michael Moher (2005 Pearson Education,inc.)
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