Washington, DC- Federal regulators edged closer to approving an innovative wireless technology known as ultra-wideband. The FCC is now backing a proposal to consider it for operation on an unlicensed basis, giving until October 30 for interested parties to submit test results.
“This is good news for those concerned about bridging the digital divide as well as for companies such as The Time Domain Corp. They can now sell a limited number of its RadarVision units to police and emergency units to evaluate their ability to locate criminals behind walls or find survivors in an earthquake. The applications for this technology to be used in positive ways and benefit more Americans are endless,” stated Ed Black, CCIA President/CEO.
“This is an important decision for technology, the industry, and for consumers as a whole. We are pleased that the FCC is moving forward on allowing this technology to enter the commercial market.”
As its name suggests, ultra-wideband uses a broad swath of the radio spectrum but in millions of pulses of low-powered emissions per second. The technology has the potential to support an array of new uses ranging from radar imaging of objects buried beneath the ground or behind walls, to high-speed data transfer over short distances. The opposition to the mass introduction was based on speculation that it could interfere with some key existing technologies such as the global positioning system (GPS), but such concerns have not been substantiated.