Old Wi-Lan news.......BERLIN -- Philips Semiconductors has partnered with Wi-LAN (Calgary,
Alberta) in pursuit of a wireless home-networking solution for real-time
audio- and video-streaming applications. The two companies will be
demonstrating IEEE 1394 wireless transmission at 2.4 GHz, using
Wi-LAN's patented wideband orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(W-OFDM) technology, at Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) 1999,
Europe's largest consumer electronics show here this week.
Philips seeks to provide HAVi-based multimedia home networks through
both wired and wireless implementations of 1394 but has "always
believed the wireless solution is the Holy Grail," said Cees Jan Koomen,
digital video group president at Philips Consumer Electronics.
Wi-LAN's technology contribution to the partnership helped achieve
the data rates necessary for in-home multimedia networking. Philips
Semiconductors, meanwhile, "brought to the table our 1394
technology and set-top expertise," said Benno Ritter,
product-marketing manager for wireless connectivity products at
Philips Semiconductors (Sunnyvale, Calif.).
Philips engineers modified the Ethernet interface of the
Wi-LAN-developed W-OFDM device to yield a 1394 interface. Because
it employs the 1394 packet size and time stamp, the proposed
wireless scheme can seamlessly maintain 1394-based connectivity by
wired or wireless means, Ritter said.
The demonstration system shown here features an MPEG-2 data
stream generator that feeds a multiple transport stream into a Philips
set-top box. The set-top converts the signal to an IEEE 1394 data
stream and applies it to the Wi-LAN W-OFDM radio system. The
Wi-LAN transmitter then sends the data stream over the air to the
corresponding W-OFDM receiver.
On the receiver side, the IEEE 1394 data signal is demodulated and
sent to two set-top boxes, which display the content of the different
MPEG-2 data streams on two separate TV monitors.
The significance of the proposed wireless 1394 scheme is that it is
potentially capable of offering a 46-Mbit/second raw data rate--and
thus handling multiple MPEG-2 streams--at a distance far exceeding
10 meters. A/V clusters installed in different rooms could connect
wirelessly through walls, Ritter said.
None of the currently available wireless home networking technologies
fully fits the bill for such home entertainment applications as
transmitting "continuous, guaranteed video streams," said Geert
Christiaansen, program manager of the Philips Home Networking Group
(Eindhoven, Netherlands).
Though the raw data rate of the Philips and Wi-LAN scheme is
46-Mbit/s , the net rate is 24 Mbits/s, after subtracting out the bit
rates necessary for the W-OFDM headers and error correction (16
Mbits/s) and for the 1394 headers and error correction (6 Mbits). "We
have not measured the actual distances that wireless 1394 can
cover," said Ritter, "but considering the nature of W-OFDM originally
developed for outdoor wireless applications covering up to 5 miles, we
don't see any problems in covering a multiroom environment."
The demonstration by Philips and Wi-LAN comes as such industry
consortia as Bluetooth, HomeRF and IEEE 802.11 are developing and
promoting a host of RF-based wireless networking schemes. Based on
divergent radio and modulation techniques, the approaches target a
range of applications.
The IEEE 802.11 wireless Ethernet standard is designed for wireless
transmission of data only; isochronous information is excluded. The
approach uses the 2.4-GHz band and offers a raw data rate of up to
11 Mbits/s.
The Bluetooth scheme, meanwhile, targets short-distance links
between cell phones and laptops with a 1-Mbit/s network that
connects devices up to 10 meters apart. The frequency-hopping
technology operates in the 2.54-GHz ISM band.
HomeRF also employs a frequency-hopping technology. It transmits
data at 1.6 Mbit/s between home PCs and peripherals and supports up
to four separate voice channels.
Philips is a member of both the Bluetooth and HomeRF groups. "We
believe other RF solutions will coexist in the same home environment,
because they are designed for different applications," Koomen said.
But developers of the various RF technologies are aware that such
coexistence may be anything put peaceful at the outset, as issues of
signal interference and network robustness arise once the
technologies are deployed in homes. "When products sharing the same
frequency band are used together, there will be definitely a resolution
issue that we need to [address]," said Ritter. "The indoor environment
is particularly susceptible to influences from other devices. We would
probably need to go a step further [to ensure signal integrity] by
adding more forward error correction and interleaving some data."
Philips hopes to realize a wireless 1394 solution by the end of next
year. Ritter would not be specific about his company's
chip-development plans for the scheme or comment on when or how
the development arrangement between Philips and Wi-LAN might
evolve into a broader business partnership. But he did say Philips
would like to present its scheme "as a suggestion" at an upcoming
HomeRF Group meeting.
Archived News
ANOTHER BRITISH/CANADIAN SUCCESS:
Wi-LAN and Tele 2 U.K. in joint venture
In June of this year the Calgary based company Wi-LAN Inc. a leading
provider of wireless data communications, signed a multi-million dollar
contract with Tele2 U.K. Ltd (a subsidiary of the multinational Millicom
International Cellular) to supply a ‘wireless local loop' system for a
national wireless data network in the United Kingdom.
Wi-LAN uses a series of base stations, antennas and its wireless radio
technology to transmit data through both the Internet and the Intranet.
Peter Scrope, Managing Director of Tele2 UK says "A digital
packet-based wireless network allows us to offer information workers
high-speed Internet and Intranet connections regardless of where they
choose to work, and Wi-LAN's cutting-edge wireless technology is an
excellent fit for this innovative new system". The system transmits
information at much speedier and less expensive rates creating an appeal
to the UK market. The project will see the two companies working
together with the target of supplying 60% of the UK population by 2003.
The focus will initially be toward small and medium sized businesses and
small home office workers. The first phase of the service is slated for the
test market of England's Thames Valley due to the high ratio of home
based offices. The second phase should see the contract value increase to
the range of 75- 150 million with the expansion of their services.
The future looks bright for these two companies. Thanks to a
U.K/Canada partnership Wi-LAN will hire up to 100 employees over the
next two years. For more information visit www.tele2.co.uk and
www.wilan.com or contact us at british_consulate@bc.sympatico.ca
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