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numerous opportunities, particularly in China for this business model. We are also members of the Wi-Fi Alliance which is a worldwide network of visionary companies that are driving the best user experience with the latest in wireless networking technology, with a certification portfolio that will later this year include solutions based on WiGig technology. All the companies work together regardless of brand to deliver this ultimate user experience with the latest security protections and multi- vendor interoperability.
You were at the forefront of the development of the first Bluetooth cordless phone, can you tell us a bit about that?
Yes, in the late 1990s I was working as technical director for VTech Communications on the development of DECT cordless phones, for customers such as British Telecom and Deutsche Telecom. At that time, Bluetooth was beginning to emerge alongside the first generation of consumer internet services. It was therefore clear to me that combining voice and data into an easy to use wireless consumer device, based on a worldwide standard would be a compelling product. However, the technical challenges with delivering telco grade voice over Bluetooth were considerable and required the development of extensions to the standard, combined with new custom silicon for product implementation. This was the genesis of the creation of Mansella – a new company focused on the development of the CDP (cordless data phone) along with a custom
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baseband for efficient product implementation. The CDP was launched at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2003, where it won an innovation award, and was launched in the US and European markets. However, in the meantime Wi-Fi was reaching price points compatible with the consumer markets, and with a 10 times data rate advantage over Bluetooth, the use of Bluetooth for delivery of broadband internet was manifestly too slow.
5G is still some time off but what do you predict is beyond 5G and the future of wireless comms?
Of course 5G is still a LONG way from being finalised and the debate on what 5G is, is still ongoing. However, we can
see that 5G is much more about a unified framework allowing a wider range of wireless and wired technologies to work together seamlessly. A good example is the current generation of smartphones, where Wi-Fi and LTE operate as independent interfaces – controlled by the user. 5G will see a seamless integration of these technologies with improved quality of service (availability, speed, latency) over what we see today. Looking further ahead we see that software defined networking (SDN) will provide closer integration with wired networks. This in turn will place greater importance on vertical integration for applications (e.g. virtual reality for remote robotic medical procedures) than is currently the case, with ‘Over the Top’ delivery of
broadband internet services. Most notably, the Federal Communications Commission in the USA has just announced a new ruling that will facilitate faster innovation in 5G by opening up 11 GHz of high-frequency spectrum for flexible, mobile and fixed use wireless broadband. This means that the US will be the first country in the world to make this spectrum available. It’s also putting in place other flexible service and technical rules that will pave the way for “killer apps” without the needless and complex red tape to hinder innovation.
You’ve always been at the pioneering end of wireless comms - if you hadn’t followed this path, what career do you think you might have chosen and why?
I’ve always had a real passion for electronics but aside from this, I have strong interests in history and economics and would have enjoyed a career which could have incorporated these into my work.
How do you like to spend your time when you’re away from work, do you have any unusual interests?
Actually, my original interest in electronics was driven by the need to build a bass guitar amplifier when I was 16! 30 years on and I am I still playing bass guitar in a rock band called ‘The Unmentionables’. We’re based in the South of England and we play regular gigs.
www.bluwirelesstechnology.com Components in Electronics July/August 2016 33
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