The Commission adopted a decision setting out the conditions for using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology on 21 February 2007, which will be used in new-generation wireless devices.
The aim is to ensure that all 27 member states use the same radio frequencies for this technology. This will avoid interference with other sectors, such as mobile-phone operators and television broadcasters, which also use the radio spectrum. It will also allow the same wireless products to be used anywhere in the EU, thereby creating a single mass market for manufacturers.
Thanks to UWB, many electronic devices so far linked by cable will have a wireless alternative, capable of transmitting data at very high rates, using less power. Devices will be able to seamlessly "speak" to each other, whenever in range.
The decision follows a move a day earlier to open up radio spectrum currently earmarked for mobile-phone communications and broadcasters to new services and is part of the Commission's strategy to make the use of the radio spectrum in the European Union more flexible and efficient to support specific Community policies, such as electronic communications, transport, R&D and broadcasting.
