Belkin Brings Wireless USB Kit To Market

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Belkin plans to launch a Wireless USB hub and dongle as soon as March, after next-generation ultra-wideband (UWB) technology was approved by the EC’s Radio Spectrum Committee in December 2006.

The dongle plugs in a PC’s USB 2.0 and connects with the four-port hub wirelessly at up to 480Mbit/sec. Together the hub and dongle will retail at $129.99 in the US (£67).

The technology is an alternative to a USB cable with an ultrawideband (UWB) wireless link.

The wireless USB hub operates at a power that only allows it to operate within a limited range, which means that there is no danger of interfering with a neighbour’s networks.

UWB spreads data across a wide range of frequencies at below the noise floor, so that receiving it is like picking out a distinctive whisper from a crown of loud talkers.

It can share frequencies already being used for conventional wireless.

UWB is allowed to operate between 3.1-10.6GHz in the US, 6-10GHz in Britain, and 7-10GHz in Japan, but it is hoped that this will not disrupt the global harmonisation of UWB-based products.