Audio-Technica Spectrapulse: A New Secure Wireless Communications Technology

( 1 Nov 2007 )

In today's business environment, information security is a foremost concern. After all, an organization can¡¯t maintain a competitive edge without protecting its trade secrets and business strategies. Although corporate spies once got their information primarily by stealing paper files or covertly photocopying sensitive documents, hacking and eavesdropping are the preferred methods of the digital age, as documented in numerous recent media reports. Because information thieves are always looking for new ways to steal sensitive information, the only way to stay ahead of them is to think ahead of them.

The new Audio-Technica SpectraPulse wireless microphone system prevents eavesdropping, eliminating a potentially damaging security vulnerability from corporate boardrooms, training rooms, government facilities and any environment where sensitive information is conveyed. The new SpectraPulse system operates with inherently secure digital transmission, and is available with optional 128-bit encryption. Also, SpectraPulse offers 14 simultaneous channels that operate flawlessly without RF turf wars, frequency hunting/ coordination, white space issues, or interference.

According to the company, the SpectraPulse system is the world's first commercial sound implementation of Ultra Wideband (UWB) technology. Audio-Technica spearheaded the development of UWB in partnership with Multispectral Solutions Inc. (MSSI), and successfully drove the effort to gain FCC approval of the technology's use in commercial applications. UWB technology allows the wireless transmission of data in extremely short-duration pulses over a wide spectrum of frequencies. Instead of utilizing conventional channels and carrier frequencies, UWB technology uses a series of short nano-second pulses which occupy an instantaneous bandwidth of 500MHz within the 6GHz frequency spectrum.

In addition to secure operation, SpectraPulse provides good resistance to interference by using a series of short nano-second pulses to transmit audio, instead of relying on conventional channels and carrier frequencies. When new FCC rules are implemented in 2009, a wide variety of unlicensed devices may be allowed to operate in so called white space areas. Should this happen, traditional wireless products used in live audio production, newsrooms, sporting events, boardrooms and other applications may not be able to operate without interference. Because it's based on UWB rather than RF technology, the SpectraPulse system is immune to the white space interference that may soon affect common wireless technologies.