Two key groups in Ultrawideband (480Mbps wireless) development, the WiMedia Alliance and the Multiband OFDM Alliance (MBOA), have merged. The move is likely to help both sides bring a single standard to the market:

The two industry bodies have been closely aligned for some time: WiMedia previously endorsed MBOA’s proposed UWB standard in April 2004, and the groups shared the majority of their directors. The merger was announced at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco on Wednesday.

"Industry will benefit from a single strategic focus for specification definitions and regulatory organisations." said Kursat Kimyacioglu, director of business line development for business connectivity solutions at Philips and a vice-president of the WiMedia Alliance.

"The merged organisation will have a single global UWB standard, and a single focal point for worldwide UWB spectrum regulations. It will be a single, open forum," Kimyacioglu added.

Once again it’s claimed that the first products could reach store shelves as early as the end of this year, yet there remain several strong competing standards that could delay finalisation.

If, at this point, you’re wondering what any of this really means, then here’s a quick summary. Many wish UWB to be the technology that finally kills the wires between computer components and other devices, much like a replacement for Bluetooth in mobile phones, only much more flexible.

Speakers, printers, PDA’s and even some local networking could one day converge under this single local area wireless communications technology. More @ ZDNet.