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NEWS

Europe moves forward on UWB

PolicyTracker's subscription service reports today that the UWB Task Group of the European Electronic Communications Committee has reached tentative agreement on a standard for Ultra-WideBand emissions in Europe - although "there are still a lot of ifs and buts and loose ends to tie up," according to someone close to the process.

We saw the 9 September version of the "Draft ECC Decision on UWB" and it is very raw indeed, incorporating proposals from different countries and equipment manufacturers without fully reconciling their differences. But PolicyTracker says the draft "follows the general tenor of Ofcom's recommendations" published on 12 September, which were reported by TechWorld and here.

"Subject to decision in other bands the ECC says UWB will be permitted to operate indoors at a level of -41dBm/MHz to -45dBm/MHz in the band 3.1 to 5 GHz (Ofcom stipulates 3.1 to 4.2 GHz) to ensure the protection of outdoor services in that band," according to PolicyTracker. And like Ofcom, ECC wants UWB devices to incorporate "detection and avoidance" methods to minimize interference to nearby signal sources.

A final draft of the decision is not expected until next month, and CEPT, ETSI and other European institutions must approve it before the European Commission receives it in December.

[UWB: 15 September 2005]