"Ultrawideband" wireless inches closer to market

Start-up Time Domain, which isdeveloping "ultrawideband" technology for wireless data use, said today ithas hired Titan subsidiary LinCom Wireless to help transform its high-speed technology into a working commercial system.

Time Domain has been one of the leaders in developing the basic technologybehind ultrawideband. But that company's expertise is in creating themicrochips that allow the technology to function, rather than in buildingwireless communications systems.

"This definitely helps us move more quickly from chipset to commercialproducts," said Peggy Sammon, a senior vice president for strategic planningat Time Domain.

Meta Group says the wireless-communications world is locked into a gold rush to develop commercially practical solutions to increase spectrum capacities and overall speed. see commentary

Ultrawideband, which uses the wireless spectrum more efficiently than doesordinary wireless communications, has been spotlighted by FederalCommunications Commission Chairman William Kennard as one possible way ofdecreasing pressure on the portion of the airwaves dedicated to voice anddata communications.

The basic technology can be used for a variety of sciencefiction-like uses, ranging from a precise positioning system to creating aradar that can see through walls. But much of the interest in recent monthshas been around its promise for high-speed data transmission applications.

Time Domain has long said its technology would likely create a super-fastwireless home networking system before it would compete with ordinary mobilephone systems. But the intense interest in finding ways to expand thecapabilities of mobile phones led US West--now Qwest--to invest in thecompany earlier this year.

The LinCom project will be looking at home networking and large-scaleapplications.

Time Domain today also opened a new office in Washington, D.C., in part tohelp keep tabs on a regulatory process that will determine the future of thecompany.

Ultrawideband, because it uses small pieces of the wireless spectrumordinarily reserved for public safety and air traffic control applications,is still illegal to use commercially in the United States.

The FCC is moving toward legalizing the technology, however. A commentperiod on regulators' proposal will close Oct. 30.