EBN (01/06/2003 1:21 PM EST)

Royal Philips Electronics and General Atomics (GA) today announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wireless communication chipsets.

Initial chipsets are expected to be available in conjunction with emerging standards such as IEEE 802.15.3a. UWB, a high-speed, short-range wireless technology, is ideal for transferring digital content between devices in different entertainment and computing clusters in the home, such as digital video recorders, set-top boxes, televisions and personal computing (PC) peripherals, the companies said.

Philips will license GA's wireless communication technology, including its Spectral Keying, an advanced multi-band UWB technology, they said. Together, the focus is to develop wireless communication chipsets for very high bit rate networks, up to 480 Megabits per second (Mbps).

The companies cited Allied Business Intelligence forecasts that UWB electronics and chips could reach 45.1 million units by 2007, with revenue of $1.39 billion.

General Atomics has corporate headquarters in San Diego, CA. Ultra-wideband technology is being developed within the Photonics Division, which is focused on the development of products containing advanced laser, wireless and sensor technologies.