The standards deadlock over ultra-wideband technology between the Multiband OFDM Alliance and the Direct Sequence UWB Forum continued at the IEEE conference this week. This time, however, it had an unexpected twist.
In the vote tally often won by MBOA, the other side won what is described as a down select vote, albeit by one vote. In a 74-73 vote, the Motorola Inc.-led DS-UWB Forum edged out MBOA amid complaints that most members of the losing alliance did not attend and allegations that Motorola paid consultants to attend and pad its voting numbers.
But the deadlock remains, because the Motorola-led group did not muster the 75 percent required for the confirmation vote. Indeed, the confirmation vote tilted against the DS-UWB forum in a 52-48 tally.
“The vote shows that we are not keeping the industry at bay, rather that the momentum has shifted to our side,” said Martin Rofheart, director of UWB operations at Freescale Semiconductor Inc., a Motorola spin-off. The next meeting will take place in Berlin in September.
“It’s no big deal,” remarked Jeff Ross, executive vice president of Alereon Inc., which belongs to the MBOA side of the aisle. He explained that Motorola’s victory did not amount to any momentum for the direct sequence standard, adding many MBOA members did not attend.
“It’s a good wake-up call because we needed something to reinvigorate us,” said Mark Bowles, vice president of marketing and business development at Staccato Communications, which also belongs to MBOA. He is also the chair of the MBOA marketing committee.
Bowles said the practice of paying consultants to attend and beefing up voting in a group’s favor is not unusual, explaining that it reflected the way IEEE does business, relying on peers and not companies to decide standards.
“It’s not against the rules,” he commented. “You can ask if it is ethical or fair. It is difficult to police it.” He added, “I am sure Motorola will claim the same on our side.”
In spite of the deadlock, companies on both sides have decided to go to market with their products, thereby undermining the standards process.
Up to 1.5 billion USB ports have been shipped since 1996, 400 million last year and 600 million this year, according to Bowles. By 2007, about 3.5 billion will be shipped, he said.
“It’s a large installed base,” he said.
