Alereon announces wireless USB chip

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Alereon Inc has announced the first chip that uses a frequency band which is legal all over the world for wireless USB.

The new chip could encourage computer manufacturers to adopt the technology. While a few wireless USB products are available on the US market, they send and receive signals over a frequency that is not legal in other parts of the world as it could interfere with radar.

Alereon expects the AL5100 to be integrated into external hard drives and cameras during 2007.

These devices would connect to computers with optional wireless add-in cards, or dongles that go into USB ports.

The chip uses ultra-wideband radio technology, or UWB, which uses frequencies far above those usually employed for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular phones and other wireless technologies.

UWB can provide high data transfer rates with low power consumption. However range is limited to around 30 feet.