UWB – MBOA Is Pumping Their Fist
As a hockey player, often I see a dispute over a goal because neither ref, goalie, nor players are certain whether the puck crossed the line or not. In these situations, I’ve learned to pump my fist in the air and yell “Yeah!” immediately. Why? It’s not complicated psychology to understand that the referee is more likely to call a goal if it looks and smells like a goal, and a fist pushed high in the air smells like a goal. It appears the Multiband OFDM Alliance is using a similar tactic in their battle for UWB standard dominance, claiming a big win even though the win is dubious. The MBOA is claiming global dominance in UWB because the WiMedia Alliance has endorsed their UWB standard proposal. But a news story about one Intel-dominated organization, the WiMedia Alliance, endorsing another (MBOA) isn’t much of a shocker, and doesn’t really signify that MBOA is the de facto UWB standard – the WiMedia alliance wasn’t even involved in the UWB standard process. Extra: The MBOA is dominated by Intel and TI with some 120 total members, and the other UWB camp is mostly just Motorola. The membership size of the MBOA would suggest it will win, but the hitch is that Moto actually has UWB chips, while the MBOA will only have sampling chips by end 2004. Despite an admirable lead, I don’t think the headstart will be enough for Motorola to win the war…Remember the Alamo?
